Simon was silent, staring at the hole he was found in, the drywall cracked and fallen in. A vague buzzing filled his sensors, a feeling of lightheadedness as he stood frozen, as stiff as his joints had been.All those years, stuck in here, and life went on outside without me.
Nora’s voice cut through to him, bringing him back to the present, “Do you know the layout of this mall, and if there’s other things? The actual mall collapsed inside. I almost didn’t even walk in here because it looked so rickety. I didn’t want to go in any farther and get trapped, but maybe you know where we can find some good things to resell.”
Tilly chimed in from behind them, flapping her hands, “We found some old necklaces once.”
Nora’s voice grew excited as she shuffled her feet on the chipped ceramic flooring. “Yes, like that. Once I shined them up they were pretty. Or copper wiring always gets a fair price. Most other metal is kinda worthless. We actually sell a lot of the wiring though. The town is always needing some to fix stuff there and they don’t have machines to make anything new.”
Simon listened, still staring at where he was found.Here. I was here, for so long.It was surreal looking at the place he’d spent nearly one hundred and fifty years hiding.
He felt a touch on his arm, gentle and hesitant as Nora said, “You okay?”
Simon turned to Nora, taking in her dirt-covered face.I would still be here . . .He reached out for her hand. “Thank you for finding me. And repairing me.”
Two pink spots appeared on Nora’s cheeks as she backed up, waving with both her hands and ignoring his offered one. “No worries.”
Simon forced his processors to clear and focused on Nora, who had dropped to the floor and was beginning to sort through the wreckage. Then beyond her to the wasteland outside.I can think of what I’ve seen later.“What else fetches a good price?”
Nora stopped her sifting. “Anything different. Some of the humans in the wealthy part of town like to collect things if they’re interesting, and they will pay real good for them. Things like old signs or fliers or music discs. They would probably love your manual, but don’t worry, I would never sell that.”
The wreckage didn’t look like it held anything other than ruin. “Music discs,” Simon echoed.
Nora quickly waved her hands again in emphasis. “If you don’t know that’s okay, I got a spot with a bit more stuff in case you can’t find any. I had to leave some behind because I needed to fit you in the hover last time.”
Simon tilted his head as he shook away the memories. Instead, he watched Nora, the hope on her face drawing his eyes and capturing his attention. “I will help. I want to . . . see what is left anyway.”
Chapter fourteen
Nora
Noralookedattheruined building speculatively as she held Tilly’s hand. She kept a close eye on the little girl’s feet while walking. Uneven footing like this was the hardest for Tilly to walk through with her bad foot.
Ironically, though, it was her that stumbled, and Simon reached out a steadying hand to keep her upright. Nora flushed as she regained her footing. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Simon moved ahead as he sifted through the rubble. He’d gone from being almost an invalid to being able to move large pieces of concrete in just a few days.
The strength he had took her breath away. She watched, lips parted.Wish I could be that strong after just charging a battery.
Just ahead, he stopped and waved her forward. “This used to be a department store.”
Nora wrinkled her nose. “What’s that?” She never would have thought anything special lay under this heap of cement. The entire thing was almost caved in. “Department is a funny name. It sounds like a compartment, which doesn’t make sense for having anything we could use.”
Simon answered, absently, as he walked through the jagged rubble, “It is exactly like compartments. The humans had large stores like this that divided goods they used in everyday life into different areas. I visited this one frequently with the human who owned me before. She liked to . . . decorate. Home goods were more toward the back.”
Human who owned me?Nora frowned as she held Tilly’s hand tight.That doesn’t sound right.Her conscience pricked at her.That’s sort of why I woke him up though, too, huh. I guess. For help.She would need to think about that. But Nora didn’t really think of Simon as a possession, just that they might help each other out. A leaden feeling hung in her gut as she watched him walk, her own step faltering.It’s not like that though. Not between us.
“Here,” Simon said, pointing ahead.
Twisted metal rose in the sky, concrete precariously balanced. Nora swallowed, thickly. “Here?”
“Yes.” Simon’s voice was steady.
Her heartbeat picked up as she peered from the side. “Is it stable enough to go in? I don’t want any of us to get hurt.”
Simon peered into the rubble as Nora climbed carefully closer to see, his tone measured, “I do not know how stable it is, but if the building is this destroyed then there might be some things others have overlooked simply for the same concerns you have.”
She grabbed Tilly, who kept walking forward. “Stay back with me, Tilly. Not steady enough with your foot.”
Simon continued walking a few steps around the perimeter. He picked up segments of concrete, large and heavy.
