My nonchalance has her perplexed. “I didn't understand any of that. Do you mean for the end that you were talking about at dinner?”
“Yes.” Looking around, we have entered a part of the city filled with smaller buildings, each with about two or three floors. What stands out the most is how clean the area is compared to the rest of the city. “Do people live out here? It's much nicer than the other areas.”
KJ walks us to the door of one of the buildings. “Not really. The water here and in the surrounding areas is so polluted that it was making people sick, so they moved closer to fresher water.”
“Oh.” I look up at the building before us. “Is this it?”
“Yes.” She walks in. I follow close behind. “When I was younger, I used to come to this area with Jean. Mom had to stay at home with Pocket because she was a baby. So Jean and I would run here and pretend we were the rulers of this part of the city. It would almost always end in an argument between us, and I would lock her in a room until she agreed I was the ruler. I don't know why she kept wanting to come back here.”
I try to picture a younger KJ playing here, and it makes me laugh. “Sounds like a fun game.”
“It was for me.” KJ laughs with me.
We walk halfway down a corridor and then take a set of stairs to the third floor. At the top, she enters the first door on the right. It's a large room, with smaller ones off to the sides. The interior of every room is empty except for the skin of dust that covers every surface.
“These used to be apartments when people lived here.” She walks up to an open door with a bathroom on the other side. Her hand grabs the handle. “The previous tenants put this knob on the door backward. Get in.”
I do as she says, and she closes the door behind me. With a click, I know she has locked the door. The room is small and crowded with the shower, toilet, and sink, but it should still hold two drones without a problem.
“Try to get out,” she yells from the other side of the door.
My hand grabs the handle, and I twist as hard as I can. The knob won't budge. My hand slips over it. I try to force the door open with my weight and then slam into it, but it remains steadfast. “This room is perfect. Okay, let me out.”
“No,” she snaps back.
This catches me off guard. “What?”
“Do you like me?” KJ whispers through the door.
“What?” I heard what she said, but I'm not sure what she means.
“Do. You. Like. Me?” She emphasizes every word.
I'm still not sure why she's asking me this. “Yes. Of course.”
She unlocks the door, and when I open it, she lunges at me, wrapping her arms around my body and pressing her lips on mine. My body melts to my feet. I'm still standing tall, but any structural integrity in my body has been replaced by a warm air that wants to lift me off the ground. I put my arms around her and kiss her back. The moment is both quick and slow, and all my senses heighten. I hear her breathing. I smell her hair.
When she pulls away, her eyes lock with mine. Her smile is the biggest I've seen, and mine matches. “So, what did you mean about turning drones?”
Wait. Why did she change the subject? I want to talk about what happened. I want to do more of it. I sigh. “Have I told you what happened to my eye?”
“No. I thought it would be rude to ask.” She grabs my hand and pulls me to a set of window doors. Opening them, she steps outside to the balcony. She sits, and I sit beside her. KJ keeps my hand in hers and places her head on my shoulder. “Tell me.”
I put my other arm around her shoulder and start in, “I was shot while protecting the main Genesys, Atom. Under normal circumstances, I would have been killed immediately after, because I was no longer useful. Atom, however, is very compassionate. He protected me and made sure I recovered. It was this near-death moment and the subsequent recovery that opened my eyes to the world. I saw the fear, and I saw the suffering. Then I felt the fear and the suffering. I was no longer a drone, set on doing what I was told and serving only one function. I became more than that. I became complex. I turned. I became human.”
“And this is what you are trying to do for the other drones? You want to liberate them?” she asks.
“Exactly.” I pull her closer. “Not just for their sake, but everyone else's too. Hundreds of drones guard the main compound in Egypt. For us to have a fighting chance to try to stop the Ragnarok, we need to turn as many as we can.”
“I'm glad you turned.” She kisses me on the cheek.
I kiss her on top of her head. Her soft hair caresses my lips. “Me too.”
I know I should be getting back to the compound to tell 13 that I found a spot, but I don't want to leave where I am. I don't want to abandon the company or the feelings I have right now. For the first time in my life, I have a sense of belonging. I am home.
CHAPTER VIII
KJ's urgent whisper wakes me up. “80. There are people down there.”
My eyes blink to try to clear the haze. The clouds have come lower, and the remaining glow of the sun is fading fast. I don't know how long we were asleep, but we spent a large part of the day curled up on this floor. The chatter from the people on the ground brings
