“I’d have to teach you to fight, to survive. I can’t do that to you. I can’t ruin you the way they did me.” he said, wiping the beginnings of tears on his bloody shirt. He coughed a couple of times, clearing out his throat, before deciding. “If you want to come with me, I won’t stop you. But if you can’t keep up, run. Find some place safe, and live your life out that way.”
"If depression doesn't get me, then the authorities will. They gave up on me a while ago, only giving me money for my therapist and meals. There's not much I have here but memories, and they're up here," Cindy tapped her temple.
It was true that Cindra was scared of the possibility of dying, but nothing much mattered to her in the moment. She took a swig of her glass and stood.
"Where to next?"
“I watched out for you. I hated seeing you the way you were,” he said, tearing up. They may have taken much from him, but he still could cry, at least. Could still express emotions the way normal people could, making him feel at least somewhat, well, normal. He reveled in it, but knew he wasn’t supposed to, so he let himself cry.
Cindra paused, leaning away from Helix. Her eyes went cold and distant for a mere second before Cindy sighed. Memories of sadness–even feelings of sadness now–creeped their way into her head. She flinched at the memories of the first year–Cindy didn't want to relive that again.
"What do I need to go with you?" Cindra finally asked. "Clothes, protein bars, anything?"
"Pack the essentials and any money in the house. We'll stop at an ATM and withdraw all the money you have, we'll need it and they're probably going to shut down your bank account in a few hours. I'll be waiting in the car." he said, finally letting go of his emotional state and focusing on the task at hand.
(Sorry for the late (and lengthy!) response!)
Taking a few seconds to understand what Helix had said with glazed eyes, Cindra nodded and headed off to her room. There was a feeling in her head, in her bones, in her body, that was amazing and terrifying at once. She wanted to feel the thrill of being on the run and forever with her husband, but what would happen? Why were people willing to kill him? Willing to kill her, even? She hadn't done anything wrong, right?
Nevertheless, she had to move. Cindy's mind practically became numb to emotion in the moment and had only one goal: pack what you need. So she did. A few day's worth of clothes, a large blanket, a few water bottles with water in them, granola bars, and the $100 Cindra kept on her at all times when she went out in case of an emergency. All that was left was her wallet.
Reaching out to the old, worn leather wallet gave Cindy a feeling of comfort; this wallet was once her father's before he passed away. Taking a brief look inside, Cindra looked soly at one of the pictures she stored in there: a picture of her and Helix on their wedding day. Helix in a tuxedo and navy blue tie, her in a lace mermaid dress and veil. Everything had been perfect. Even if mom kept on making silly faces at us when we were trying to take this picture. Then why, Cindy thought, did it all go wrong?
Cindra blinked away tears she just now realized were there and stuffed the wallet into the duffel bag. Should she take her phone? No, people might try to track her. Unless…
Cindy skimmed through her text messages and found one from her mom earlier in the morning. She had suggested that Cindy go to a therapedic camp site out in the middle of nowhere. Before she had responded with a 'Maybe', fully intending to not go. She still didn't, but just to make sure she and her husband were given some time, she texted her mother. 'You know what? I think I will go. I don't know how long I'll be there so I might not have connection. Letting you know now so you don't worry. Love you mom!' And she dropped the phone and stomped on it… which didn't do much, considering that she was still in a nightgown and not wearing any shoes. The phone was promptly destroyed by her combat boots once she put them on.
Cindra left the house wearing a warm black jacket over a Dark green v-neck t-shirt and brown cargo pants that matched her combat boots–which were originally her grandfather's when he was in the government's military. Atop her head rested sunglasses–just for when she conveniently needed them.
Eyeing the minivan, she raised an eyebrow before opening the door and climbing into the passenger seat before tossing the duffel bag behind them. Almost instinctively, Cindy's hand rested atop of Helix's. Cindy smiled, then sighed as a previous thought entered her head.
"So uh, how long will we have to do this?"
"We're walking the first few miles, there's a supermarket up ahead. We'll go and get a new car from there; there'll be an ATM we can use too." he said, taking a large backpack out of the van. "Stay close to any cover you can get, they're watching the skies." Helix mumbled. How could he have let this happen? As much as he loved his wife, he'd be willing to leave her behind for her safety. But he was happier with her than he had been in years.
The walk was long, and before they both knew it the sun was rising. Cars filled the supermarket, nobody would notice if they took one.
Well, the owner might, but that was irrelevant. He took the closest one he could see and got to work hotwiring the thing, then mumbled out instructions for Cindra to go and find an ATM.
"Yeah…" Cindra folded her hands over one another. She had managed to keep up the pace with Helix, and though she was happy to be with him, something certainly happened to put herself to feel like she doesn't know the man she loved anymore. This man was stern and cold, not the heartwarming and kind Helix she knew. She walked away from the stranger that looked like Helix and walked to an ATM.
The cheery robotic voice greeted her, "Thank you for choosing Wander ATMs. Please tell me your name, date of birth, and your Wander ID to get into your account."
"Cindra Scrane, September eleventh, 30XX, Wander ID 3095 6281 6804." Cindra's voice was dull–mostly tired, but she could manage.
"Searching for: 'Cindra Scrane'" Pause. "Welcome back! It seems like you've been gone for quite some time. Are you here to deposit, transfer money to another account, or withdrawl?"
After going through the process of withdrawing all of Cindy's $1,278, she walked towards where Helix was. "Almost $1.3k. Is that all?" Cindra looked at Helix with tired, dazed eyes. The thrill that she thought she would have had been feeling had been killed about 1 hour into the hike to the ATM.
"We're ready to go whenever. Get in." he said, opening up one of the car's doors to allow Cindy inside. He started the car once she was inside, and began to drive. The car let out a steady, rumbling hum, and they drove off into the distance. Helix felt a little bad for taking someone's car, but he cared more about his own survival and ended up brushing the thought away near instantly. Sometimes, your own needs were important enough that you'd risk anything to get them. Like survival.
Cindy blinked, staring straight ahead. "So Helix," she started. "How long have you been living like this? With no clear end in sight, just to move and stay alive?" Conversation was inevitable, but Cindy felt like she needed to know if the same person she knew was still in there. For all she knew, Helix was only in it for him, for his survival, which was true but…where had their love gone? Then it was infinite. Now? Cindy didn't know. Helix had changed, and she was scared of that, in a sense. Then again, she had changed too, like Helix had but less… harsh.
"Six years. They spent the first beating the shit out of me. You learn to comply when there's a gun at your throat." he gave a dry laugh. "Cindy, it's still me. I still love you, I just… things have to be different now." he said.
He drove further along the road, eventually pulling over at a gas station. He got out, took some cash from his pocket, and walked inside the store. He came out with two bags full of supplies and a pack of cigarettes, one of which he lit. He'd never smoked before the incident, but he found the buzz helped his brain settle down, let him focus better. Another change Cindra would probably worry her mind out over. But he couldn't deal with that now, they had to keep going.
Helix continued to drive along, spending hours not talking. Once he'd exhausted all his cigarettes, he pulled over. They were reaching the border of Legion City, the most technologically advanced city in the Dome. There were apparently hovercars being developed in their laboratories there, along with so many other advancements that made his head spin.
"So how long? How long will it be until things return to normal?" Cindra fiddled with her fingers, her uneasiness spiking when Helix smoked a pack. Her uneasiness reminded her of the first time she went home without Helix by her side. She had busied herself–even started cleaning!–when days later it had hit her that her husband was no longer coming back. That was when she no longer cared about her wellbeing.
"Or…" Cindy didn't like the next thing she would say. "Will we be on the run forever?"
"Forever? No, they'll kill us first. I have friends here in Legion, the type of people invested in taking my former bosses down. We'll talk to them, find a place to hide out for the time being." he said, getting out of the car and unloading their supplies. He loaded everything into a duffel bag he'd found in the back of the car and set off towards the fence guarding the border. With inhuman strength and speed he scaled the fence and landed gracefully on the other side. "Come on, we need to hurry. They'll catch up soon enough." he said, heading towards bright neon city lights.
"Wait, you never said we'd be killing people! I thought that was all behind you!" Cindy widened her eyes at Helix, almost losing her grasp on the gate. With much difficulty, she managed to get over the border with a hard landing, having to kneel down to steady herself. Cindra stood and looked into Helix's eyes. "I thought we'd just be laying low until the heat died down and we could live our normal lives. Why not go to the police about this?"
“I never said we would.” Helix pointed out. “But you don’t leave shit behind, not ever. I love you, but if you get in my way I won’t let you stay around. You’ll have to make your own path.” he said, giving her a steely glance. He walked towards the city lights, seemingly not tired at all yet looking like he hadn’t slept in days.
Cindra groaned. She should have made up a contract or something. This wasn't going to be much fun for her, but if it meant being with the man–cyborg?–she loved, then so be it. She just…wouldn't look at the bodies, that's all. Besides, there wasn't much to even do to get in Helix's way. He was once a gentle soul who cared for Cindy more than anyone else, now he was enhanced by whatever group of people took him when he 'died'. She didn't stand a chance against him, even if she tried to stop him.
"How would people even find us? Sure, I withdrew money at the ATM, but that was it! They might see the security camera footage at the gas station, but there probably isn't much footage to know exactly where we're going! I just–sorry, I didn't get much sleep in the car and I'm still going over a few things in my head."
“They have… informants. Look, I swear, we’ll be safe soon. Trish and Tito are the greatest people I know, besides you obviously. They’ll get us a place to stay, and we’ll work towards taking those assholes down once and for all. Whatever it takes.” Helix said, walking into the city and heading down street after winding street.
Cindra stayed close to Helix. It had been forever since she had come Legion City, having only been there once before as a child when her family went on vacation. Cindy tried to smile at the compliment, but the ongoing pressure of running away from people–she didn't like it. She had to endure it, though, now that she started running off with Helix. Or did Helix arriving to their home insure her death by whatever group was trying to kill him?
"Trish and Tito–anything I should know about them?" Cindy had to lengthen her stride to keep up. It had been so long since she had bothered to go outside. Everything was so different.
"They're… strange, but you get used to it. They'll get us a place to stay and you'll be safe." he said, opening the door of a small store advertising tech repairs that would get your machine running better than ever.
"Helix! Hey, we thought you died! Useless ass; but that's irrelevant." a man with brown skin and black hair tied up in a bun went to greet them. "Who's the sad one? Is she that wife you kept whining to me about?"
"Tito. Right. I forgot how much of a shitlord you were. Tito, this is my lovely wife Cindra. Cindra, this is my horrible friend Tito." he introduced them, and moved to the back of the shop. "Cindy needs a place to stay. Can you hook us up with something?" he asked, not turning to face either of them.
"I need a place to stay? What about you? Helix, you look like shit!" Cindy nudged Helix, scowling at the one he had called 'Tito'. "Please tell me you're going to rest, too. You can't keep running on robotic electricity and whatnot, you're still human." Ciny turned to look at Helix worriedly. She didn't want him to wear himself out.
"Pleasure to meet you, too. Don't you dare call me sad again or I'll whoop your ass without a warning." Cindra shrugged nonchalantly at Tito. "And I really hope you have decent food because I am starting to get really tired of granola bars."
"Pleased to meet a strong woman like yourself. It's a good break from Trish and their cowardice." Tito grinned, gesturing for Cindra to follow. "They're a lot better than I am at cooking, I'll see if they can whip something up." he said, flipping up a rug to lead her down through a trapdoor disguised as floorboards. He started climbing down, leading Cindra into a large room far below the ground with tech in every corner and crevice it could fit. Tito lead her through, to a small office where a redheaded person fiddling with a computer monitor sat.
"Hey, Ti. Oh, do you have the new recruit with you?" they asked.
"No, she's Helix's wife. You know how he went on."
"Uh, hi. I'm Cindra. I'm presuming you're Trish? Helix told me a bit about you two." Cindy pointed at Tito, "I don't need to know anything about you to know that you're crazy, I hope Trish, you aren't the same?" God, I just wish I was back at home. Do I really have a home anymore, really? I guess not until this kerfuckle is done with.
"I'm not too crazy, dear, I usually leave that up to Tito. But! Tito probably wants me to start cooking for you. So why don't you two come with me to the kitchen and I'll whip something up. Eggs sound good? I got a large shipment of eggs I didn't ask for that I just don't know what to do with." they said, getting up out of their chair and leading them to the kitchen.
"Ooh, can you make omelettes? I would kill for some of those!" Cindra didn't want to be super picky, but as long as she didn't get scrambled eggs, she was fine. "Where's Helix going to rest?" But most of all, even if she got scrambled eggs, she cared about Helix the most, even if he had changed.
Trish looked a little surprised at the comment about rest."H-Helix doesn't really rest, dear. You're not going to change that, he powers through until he's all out of gas. You know him, I'm sure you remember." Trish said, starting up the stove and cracking eggs into the pan. They put them in the right shape, added some diced tomatoes and cheese, and served the omelette to Cindra. "All ready, dear!"
"I-of course he still does that." Cindra sighed, shaking her head while letting a smile come to her face. "Guess there's still hope for him after all. You two have seen him more than I have, yes? So…catch me up on what he's like, I guess?" Cindy mumbled a 'thank you' to Trish and started eating.
"Thanks again for the hospitality, I wouldn't be able to continue on without it."
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