Broken Tears Part 2
I was so relieved it was over…At least for now anyway. What exactly was she? And why did she thank me? I drank her blood! As perfect as it was….it was wrong! Yet I craved more…and she was unconscious. No! Instead I picked her up, my arms still shaking slightly, and cradled her head close to me, no one would harm her…never again..
I hated my family name, but it did have some perks. We owned basically everything in town, which meant that there was a place we could stay without anyone bothering us. I looked down at her, she looked peaceful and I envied her. You can't keep her locked up, a little voice at the back of my mind whispered, She might even run away. I hated common sense more than my family. I hated the little thing called 'conscience' at the back of my mind. I hated running away. Boy did I hate a lot of things!
I guess in the back of my mind I had settled it… I would wait for her to wake up, if she wanted to stay with me, I would let her…If not I would simply wipe her mind of me, and let her live a life she wanted..But if it was anything like the images I saw, well who would? I shuddered..Not as I was cold, but with fear… I wished I could be at peace, have someone I could be with, but that choice was taken from me, so I lay her down gently against the wall, and I leaned against the opposite wall, always watching.
The cave was cold, obviously not for me, but I was worried as hell for her. I groaned inwardly, Mum always said I had a bad mouth, I wondered if that was a vampire thing. After a few painstaking hours passed, night was drawing near. It would be easier to travel at night, less people around. I paced around the small cave-like space, kicking the floor, I didn't like being still. Finally the girl awoke; she blinked a few times, her cropped black hair that fell to just above her shoulders was tousled from where she had slept on it. She shook her head and then watched me as I watched her. I was once again lost in her eye colour. They were almost white, but they were silver, grey, every colour from white to black. She looked at me for a second longer and then frowned. I could see the bite marks on her neck from when I had bitten her. I pressed myself against the wall harder, ashamed.
"Why do I remember you?" she asked. I was taken aback.
"Be…because you met me a few hours ago? You were unconscious..." It was worse than I thought…I had drained far too much, now she didn't know anything, the sense of guilt overpowered me, and my eyes kept skimming over her neck. I knew walking away would be the hardest thing I will do in my life, it felt like we belonged together…maybe it was a vampires need to kill?
"You don't deserve to know me, you won't see me ever again..." I said as I turned and began to leave...
She snorted. I mean, she SNORTED. It was impossibly cute, so cute I stopped. She grabbed onto my hand and made me sit down next to her.
"I didn't mean that… It's just… do you even remember what I said?" she struggled with the words and I found that I was captivated by her. I remembered vaguely about what she was talking about, so I nodded.
"My memory is normally erased by Spa- God, it's bloody cold in here." She shivered after stating the last part, scooting closer to me. I moved away, but she just kept on coming closer until I was against the rock wall and had nowhere to run.
"I'm only trying to get warm." She told me. I chuckled; she tried to get warm with the only creature on the planet that was never warm.
"I thought you said you were, like, a robot or something?" I asked, I was confused.
"I can't feel emotions. That doesn't mean I can't feel the bloody cold." I thought I was bad with my mouth.
I chuckled, I didn't laugh much, no one made me feel like she had in the short time I'd known her. "Sit as close as you like, you won't feel warm around me, can you not here the lack of heartbeat?" I noticed her stop, just staring to the cave wall...
"Nothing."
"Yep, sad isn't it, I'm dead!" I chuckled again, only this time the laugh reflected how I felt…defeated.
"Dead things can't talk, laugh or respire." She murmured. I frowned; I still knew nothing about her.
"Yeah, well robots don't exactly have a heartbeat either, do they?" I said, staring outside at the darkness that loomed. She clicked her tongue, almost angrily.
"I told you I am no flipping robot. I'm just an artificial being." She said, not looking at me. I was aware that her body was still pressed against mine.
"Just? Explain please." I said, watching to see how she reacted.
"I was created in a lab, blah blah blah. I grew up with four other poor kids who had the same thing done to them. I should not be able to remember anything. I do not have any emotions. I do not have any friends, other than the two other artificial beings I get along with. They have emotions. I have no idea why I am here. I am ticked off." She said this in a voice that told me she had told this a million times before. I had one more question.
"Do you know your name?"
"Do you know yours?"
What sort of a question was that?
"Of course I know my name…I was born! Into the worst family possible, but still born!" I was so tired of yelling at people, but that's all I could seem to do, I was still trembling…Still afraid of what I would do.
"You don't feel emotions? If you didn't feel emotions surely you wouldn't have friends? I think you're different…" I probably shouldn't have said that...
"And I KNOW you should leave, look at the marks on your neck."
"And go where? Kuro abandoned me here!" Her eyes widened, and she shut up. I watched as tears welled up in her eyes and they fell, rolling down her cheeks. She touched them, she looked appalled.
"What the hell are these?!" she almost exploded. I could not help but burst into a fit of laughter. Of course she didn't know what tears were, but she was downright hilarious. She glared at me, even if she couldn't feel emotions, she should have been mad at this point.
I turned and faced her, she looked up at me with a look of frustration, I found myself smiling as I knelt before her, gently holding her face in my hands and wiping the tears away. "Ryder." "I don't understand..." She responded, I laughed again... "My name, its Ryder…and you're crying."
"Crying?" she said. "Will I die?"
Another round of hysterics took over. I can't remember laughing so much in my life.
"No, no, no. It means you're sad about something. Sadness is an emotion. You do have flaws after all." I smiled.
"An emotion? Everyone else… They could easily learn e..emotions. But I couldn't. I wanted too, but I couldn't. Not even Kagami and Reikon cou-" she stopped.
"What's with all these, what, Japanese names?" I blurted out tactlessly. She sighed.
"Our creator was crazy. He named us after stuff, he was Japanese, and so he found it fitting. Kagami and Reikon are like two halves of whole, lovers of the Heart he used to say. Kagami means mirror, because they both have honey-coloured blonde hair and golden eyes. Reikon means soul and spirit, because they can communicate through their minds."
That explained it, but what was her name?
That was the only thing I wanted to know right then, her name, the name of this delicate being, the one I wanted more anything. Her. But was it her blood or her? The more I thought of it…the 1st seemed like the likely option. "I understand this must confuse you, but until you know what you're doing, I can teach you about emotions… I promise to look after you, if you want me to.." 'If I get your blood' the guilty thought lay unspoken in the air..
She looked at me as if I was crazy. I sighed
"That might not be the best idea, though. I've already drunk from you once after two seconds of meeting you…"
She still didn't say anything. I stood up, vaguely aware that the light was fading faster than I expected.
"C'mon. Let me get you to town, at least then you'll be safe from me." My voice was noticeably quieter at the end. What if I couldn't let her go? What if-
"I accept. My blood for your emotions." She said, looking dead-straight into my eyes. I was shocked into silence.
"You don't listen to the negative things at all, do you?" I muttered, wondering if I should just drop her in town.
"Besides," she carried on, "Kagami and Reikon will here tomorrow or so. I've already sent out a distress signal. You won't try anything whilst they're around."
I groaned inwardly. What was I? A homeless shelter?
I sighed, what if I hurt them to? And I had to disagree with her on the last part…I could easily kill all 3 of them, but the thought of being alone terrified me. "I can't promise anything…your safety, happiness, if you learn it, and other things… But I will try as long as I have control, never to hurt you, when in my good mind it's impossible.." I've fallen for you… Yet another unspoken statement. I carefully picked her up in my arms and ran into the night.
"Wait. I never got to ask you. What IS you name?"
She looked out into the darkness of the woods.
"My name, Ryder, is Kikai. It means machine."