Artificial Mates - Chapter 18

The next day, I got up early, it was still dark outside. Sleeping next to me over the bed cover was a serene Grant, our fingers intertwined. I couldn’t help smiling.

“Good morning,” I let go of Grant and rolled to my side. Demos sat in his usual spot; he reached and lightly brushed my cheek with his thumb. I hid a giggle in my pillow.

“Do you want to take a walk before going to work?” I nodded eagerly and hid my mouth with my hand. I had bad breath I didn’t want to disgust him with the smell. I jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. Once I’ve brushed my teeth and got to the toilet I was human again.

“Morning,” said Grant as I entered the room. He sat with crossed legs in bed.

“Morning guys. You’re coming too?” I pulled the closet open, got my training legging and a sweater. He turned to Demos with a puzzled look. Demos nodded at him. There they go again with their mute conversation.

“Could you not do that in front of me? It’s annoying,” they both looked up.

“We are using the mate’s link. It’s natural for us to communicate like that. If you feel left out its normal cause we haven’t sync… yet,” explained Grant but I stepped back with one hand on my hip.

“Cut it out already!” I glared at him. He instantly shut his mouth. “You said I could take my time, just let me get my footing, ok,” I slammed the bathroom door behind me and got dressed; I’ll shower when I come back, I thought. Demos haven’t moved from his spot when I came back, staring out the window. Grant was gone. Maybe I was a bit too harsh.

“He’s not coming,” he announced without looking at me.

“Is he pissed? I’m sorry, it’s just a big leap for me,” I pulled on my socks and shoes.

“You shouldn’t apologize to me,” he got up and went to the door. “I’ll be waiting at the entrance,” he silently closed the door behind him. I groaned in frustration. If I sync with them… I won’t be able to go back. It will be official. ‘WE’ will be a thing. I like them; I don’t think I can survive without them. But, for god sake, it has been only a week. It was going too fast. I placed both hands over my head in despair.

I tiptoed to the living room. Grant stood in the kitchen making tea; I could smell the sweet aroma from here. He was wearing the pink apron I got him. How can I possibly be angry with him? I stood behind him as he stirred the tea and pressed my forehead between his shoulder blades.

“I’m sorry… I hurt your feelings,” I murmured against his back.

“My feelings for you remain constant. I’m just lonely and maybe a little annoyed that you still don’t trust us enough to sync with us,” he turned around with a weak smile.

“The apron suits you, honey,” I grinned and he chuckled. I was able to evade the whole subject. There he was… My little sunshine. “You’re coming?” I tipped my head towards Demos expecting him to follow.

“It’s ok. You can go. I’ll get your lunch ready,” he lowered his eyes. I admit I was a little disappointed. I nodded and joined Demos. We walked in silence to the elevator. In the hall, Jil greeted us with a surprised look.

“You were able to drag Miss Kerry out of bed for jogging,” she clapped her hand at Demos with pride.

“Congratulations De, you’re taming her,” my lips twisted in annoyance. Somehow, I didn’t like her at all.

“Bye,” tossed Demos before pulling the door for me. I pursed my lips at him.

“What?”

“Nothing,” I quickly exited the building. Demos wore his black short, white flip-flops and a blue shirt. Those didn’t fit for training. I didn’t mention it. We walked down the block for ten minutes in silence, went pass the thrift shop and turned to the right on a road I was unfamiliar with.

“Where are we going?” I gave him a secretive peek. His face was blank. It didn’t help ease my racing heart.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be back on time,” he simply added. He picked up the pace to a jog. The flat street was bordered with closed storefronts from another era. It turned to a slow slop with beaten concrete houses covered with graffiti. This part seemed unsafe. I opened my mouth, then closed it. However, the uneasiness grew the further we went.

“You’re sure you know your way?” I gasped out of breath. The streets were deserted. Somehow, there might be shadows lurking in those narrow gaps between the buildings. Still, Demos remained silent. When we reached the top of the hill, two men dressed in black hoodies emerged on both sides from what seemed to be an abandoned factory. Demos slow down, I froze in the middle of the street behind him.

“Liliane, do you trust me?” he said loud enough for me to hear. I couldn’t move the muscles in my jaw to answer. I stared with wild eyes as one of the men pulled a switchblade out. Those never happen in real life, right.

“Greetings gentlemen,” Demos relaxed his posture as if speaking to friends. The two men exchanged a gaze, then chuckled with one holding his weapon in the air. He switched it from one hand to the other.

“We are just passing through. I’ll advise non-violence. You are warned. If you resolve to violence against my mate I’ll have to defend her,” he explained in a playful tone. Demos didn’t take a defensive pose or even seemed to care about the weapon. I held my breath. This could escalate at any moment.

“Demos!” I whispered in a broken voice. Why the hell did he provoke those thugs? The one on the left dashed at him with his blade slashing in the air. In a swift movement, Demos grabbed the wrist holding the knife, twisted it. The man yapped with pain, Demos turned and threw him against the second one. They collided with a dull thump, then sunk to the ground unconscious. My mouth opened to scream, no sound came out. Demos wiped his hands together with a smirk on his face.

“Wh-what have you done?” he tilted his head to the side.

“I’ve protected you from bad people,” he added as a matter of fact. I took a step away from him.

“Yo-you hurt them…” my voice trailed off.

“Did you prefer them hurting you?” his face grew cold. I shook my head, but my eyes couldn’t look away from the blood. There was blood coming from one of the man’s forehead. They lay in the dirt like broken dolls. Were they dead? I panted with panic.

“We should call a medic, the patrols! Why did you have to get in this part of Level twenty-two?” I shouted. “Couldn’t we like walk around our neighborhood?” he reached for me and I immediately pulled away. “Don’t touch me!” I reached for my bracelet.

“Don’t, I already send them an alert and the feed of the attack,” his face was a blank slab of granite. “My emergency protocol urges any I-MATE to act if there’s a direct threat to our human mates. I’ve recorded my warning and still, they wouldn’t quit. I used the least lethal move to neutralize both of them,” he explained with his back facing me. A blue and neon green patrol craft blasted to a stop above up. Its thruster stirred the air around us. Demos held a hand up to protect me.

“UnitB0237, Model Helios 4- DEMOS. We’ve received your distress call. Proceed to scan,” said a robotic voice from the flying vehicle. A beam of green light spread over the perimeter. I stared in horror as more craft flew towards us. The medic’s orange craft landed, sending debris in all directions. I pulled my sweater over my nose to shelter from the dust. Two uniform cyborgs got off. They scanned the unconscious men then tossed them on a foldable stretcher without care. Both wheeled inside the craft the wounded then immediately took off, scattering more dust in the air.

“A report will be sent to your owner and your company. Thanks to keeping law and order,” added the hovering patrol vehicle. In seconds, it flew up towards the horizon.

“That-that’s all?” I asked stupefied. “What about the three laws? I don’t understand?” Demos turned around, he walked down the slope in silence. What just happened here? Since when were artificial allow to hurt a human and everyone was like… “Ok, cool!” with a pat over the shoulder? I reluctantly followed him home. Grant greeted us with a smile that only lasted for one second. When he noticed my pale face, he rushed to me and took me in his arms. I was shaking all over.

“Shh, it’s going to be ok,” he pulled me away to look at my face. My tears just broke loose. “Hey, you were late, I was worried,” he pulled a napkin from his pocket and handed it to me. I blew my nose, I followed Demos’ movement as he made his way to the living room. Our eyes met for a fraction of a second when he sunk on the dark couch. Goosebumps rose all over my arms.

“Grant co-could you accompany to work instead?” he looked confused by my request. But he nodded after a moment of silence. I took a quick shower, got dressed in a dull outfit, pulled my hair away from my face and put on my glasses. I couldn’t hide my eyes red. I didn’t care.

“Ready, Princess?” he asked when I got out. He was carrying my lunch bag. I nodded at him, I couldn’t help giving one last look towards the living room before closing the door. Demos was staring into the distance with a blank face. I shivered at the sight. It never occurred to me that he could be dangerous until I witnessed the sheer strength. He could break me like a twig between his fingers.

The trip to the station was short. Grant talked about trivial things I couldn’t follow. The images from the fight played in loops in my head. Demos wasn’t like any artificial. Grant tapped my shoulder. I blinked at him. Was Grant the same? Could he resolve to violence too?

“The Transfer is here,” he held out his hand with a gentle smile and I took it without hesitation. No, Grant was different. We boarded the vehicle, it was packed as usual. Grant stood next to me. He kept chatting about how awesome it was and that it was the first time he took the Transfer. I nodded without listening. We got off, he accompanied me to the front door of SolTec. I waved him goodbye. He was gone. I was alone.

“That’s her!” someone murmured behind me as I swapped my bracelet at the front door. “She’s the one who got Jay Dawson fired!” the comment snapped me from my slumbering state. I turned to look at the speaker and found two women glaring at me.

“Bitch!”