The droid on the control system snorted. "Well get back in that pod then. It's going to take me at least a day to find all these hidden codes that I couldn't even see. Damned droids. They had to make everything hard. I don't understand why they did this!"
Damn it.
She'd been awake for such a short time. All she wanted was to explore the room a little more, maybe stay awake to watch the water that was revealed from the hatch on the floor. She'd stare at a wall if that's what they wanted to do, anything not to go back to that simulation.
But Proteus didn't argue. And if he was the one she had to listen to now, then maybe he was saying he wanted her back asleep again. She headed over to the pod, smoothing her hands over the sides like she had a million times.
The cushion was comfortable inside. Even if she wanted to lie on her side, though, the machine within the pod would turn her to the optimal position. It would hold her in place if she struggled. Ellie had lain inside for so long that the indent of her body remained. The glowing lights would turn off. It would be slightly too cold for comfort the moment she got inside, and then it would inject her with the drugs that would keep her pliant. The lights would turn off, and the simulation would turn on.
Licking her lips, she looked up at Proteus and said, "My simulation was wrong while I was in there. I believe it was damaged. Did my pod fall?"
He nodded. "You fell all the way to the deepest part of the ocean. The lava field you were resting on may have damaged some of the circuits."
"It's nightmarish in there now." He had told her not to lie, so she told him the truth. That simulation had frightened her, andthe idea of going back into it was even worse. She wouldn't beg him, though.
She knew begging didn't help. No matter how prettily she did so, as Malcolm used to say.
He sighed heavily, then his gaze flicked away from her to the droid working on the code. "I do not care what you do, human. If you wish to stay awake and suffer through the mind-numbing annoyance of watching Pilot work, then you may."
"I..." She shouldn't thank him, either. But she did shut the lid of her pod and sit down on top of it. The cold top made her thighs ache, and goosebumps rose all over her skin without a blanket.
Still. This was the best she'd ever felt.
She wasn't asleep. She was here, watching a strange droid working with code and knowing a monster was at her back.
What clone could ever say they'd experienced this?
Seven
Proteus
It was strange to be awake. Even stranger to have companions such as a human clone and a droid who rarely seemed to stop talking. Pilot was not kind to the woman. The droid's quips were clearly meant to be cutting, but she took them all in stride. In fact, she just seemed happy to be awake and not back in that pod.
That was something he could agree with. Even being in the facility was too stifling for him after centuries of imprisonment. Proteus made a point of going out into the ocean every time he had a chance so he could breathe. This square wasn't big enough for him. He needed the entire ocean, the whole of it, to feel like he was still alive.
Swimming through the waters, free as he hadn't been in so many years, that was what mattered. Hunting through the depths, feeling the goddess of the sea guiding him toward hunting grounds that would challenge him, make him stronger, that was what he had missed most during his imprisonment. And now he could do it all and more if he wished.
Now, he had to return to the facility. The two of his companions were capable creatures, but he knew very well that they couldn't be left alone. Pilot wasn't one he trusted all that much. The droid had proven to be unhelpful so far. And the woman? She was not one that he would trust as far as she could swim.
Which wasn't very far at all. He'd seen her watching the water with fear in her pale eyes. He was quite certain she didn't know how to swim at all.
Sticking his head up into the hatch, he watched her as she moved in front of the screens. He had to compliment whoever had trained her, because she was wonderfully efficient. Her attention was always on the work in front of her, and he could see her lips moving as she read. Then she'd start typing, making sure that every single word was correct. She was quick, and she wanted to help.
What he didn't understand was why. There were a lot of reasons for her not to trust what was happening around her. Even more reasons for her to refuse to help. Perhaps it would even be safer for her in the long run to go back into that pod and pretend nothing was happening. That was the gift she could give herself.
But she wasn't doing any of that. He needed to understand her reasoning.
Pulling himself out of the water, he ignored the rush of liquid that covered the floors immediately. The drains turned on, and the loud noise interrupted any secrecy he might have once had. He didn't even wince this time, though. Perhaps he was getting used to the overabundance of sound.
She spun around, her eyes wide until she realized it was him. And even then, she didn't relax.
"You're back," she said.
"I am. Are you disappointed?" He grinned, knowing his teeth were on full display.
Proteus so enjoyed the tiny shudder that ran through her at the sight of his teeth. He'd figured out very quickly that they made her uncomfortable, and they should. He was a predator who was watching her as though the tiny bones in her hands would pick his teeth clean very easily.
She turned back to the screens. But not before he saw her shudder with shock and fear. "We've been deciphering the messages left by the droids. They are not only hiding messages in binary code that only a human can read, but said messages are a riddle. We're trying to understand what they meant, but someone went to extreme lengths to hide this place. They didn't want the power turned back on."
