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I shook my head.

“No parents?” She raised her eyebrows.

“They aren’t here right now,” I told her.
“They’re out of town,” I lied.

The woman cleared her throat again and
shifted her feet. She glanced at Michael and Jessica then back to
me. Clearly, she didn’t believe me. “Well, there were wires and
metal lining the inside of your body, circuits, and...things,” she
said frankly, looking up to meet my eyes. “I would like you to
explain to me why those were there. We’ve never heard of any
medical procedures that would call for something this extensive,
and we also know that what we’ve seen is impossible to perform
according to our knowledge.”

I stared back at her, and my breath seemed to
catch in my throat. The room was completely silent, tense. I
couldn’t even hear the others breathing. The woman stared at me,
her composed expression morphing into fear and revulsion. “What are
you?” she whispered, almost like she couldn’t help it.

What are you?
Those were the same
words the school nurse had said to me when she had seen a cut on my
arm, exposing metal. What was I? Something that evidently shocked
and horrified people.

Yes, it was horrifying to find a mechanical
person. But it wasn’t my fault, was it? I hadn’t asked to be like
this. I hadn’t done this to myself. It had been the creators. Why
didn’t they stare in disgust at them and ask what they were? They
were the monsters. Not me.

Or was I? After all, they called
Frankenstein’s creation the monster, but not Frankenstein himself.
Was I like him? Just the victim of some terrifying mistake? The one
who took the blame when I had done nothing?

I looked away from the woman and stared down
at my sheets. White. Just like the ones I had used at the
Institution. White and impersonalized. Boring, blank, and
indifferent.

The panic was indescribable now, surging,
raging.

The woman gave a small irritated sigh. “I
will be back later.” She sounded tired. She turned around and
exited the room.

I let out a breath of air I just realized I
had been holding in. But I wasn’t relaxed. Not at all. Not yet. I
turned to Jessica and Michael. “We are leaving,” I said each word
strongly, and met their eyes, daring them to protest.

“I don’t like it,” Michael said.

“You don’t need to.” I sat up and started to
pull the covers off, but realized I was wearing nothing but a
hospital gown. I looked up at Jessica. “Do you have my
clothes?”

She held up a small bundle. “Everything but
your shirt; it was all bloody.” She hurriedly took off her jacket
and peeled off her T-shirt, revealing a camisole underneath. “You
can wear mine, though,” she said as she tossed it to me and put her
jacket back on.

I took it from her and Michael turned away
while I quickly changed. My back hurt terribly, but I didn’t want
to tell them that and make them worry. I forced my movements to be
smooth and measured, although I felt like stumbling and limping. I
needed
to get away from here. It wasn’t debatable. I had
seen how the doctor had looked at me, not to mention that the
creators could easily find me here. And what would stop them from
claiming to be my legal guardians?

I looked quickly around the room then walked
to the window. It looked out across the rooftop of the story below
us. “What floor are we on?”

“Third,” Jessica replied, a slight question
in her voice.

“Hmm.”

“You’re not thinking of going out through the
window?” Michael asked, watching me.

“I can’t just go walking down the hallway.
They’ll stop me. I’m technically supposed to be dead, I have a body
filled with metal and wires, I have no parents, and I won’t answer
their questions. They’re not just going to let me leave,” I
stated.

Michael looked unhappy as he unlatched the
window and slid it open. I shoved against the screen and it popped
out, clunking to the floor.

Michael climbed out first and helped me
through, his eyebrows pinched together in worry. Jessica clambered
after us and we started cautiously making our way across the roof.
The tiles seemed flimsy and insecure and my balance and perception
was still off from the drugs they had apparently given me.
Michael’s arm grazed my elbow, helping to keep me steady.

Just then, a shout pierced the air, sending
my heart racing. “Wait!” The voice was half frantic. I turned to
see someone at the window to my hospital room, leaning out. I
turned back to Michael and Jessica. “Go!” I cried and we tried to
run faster.

I heard the man I had seen call to someone
else. When I looked back, he and the woman I had seen earlier had
climbed out and they were following us unsteadily across the
roof.

“Stop!” the woman called. “You’ll fall and
hurt yourself.”

She seemed genuinely concerned but I wouldn’t
turn back. There were too many risks. I ignored her warning and
instead, started to run. It was difficult to travel on a slanted,
tiled roof, but seemingly possible if you had a good enough reason.
When I heard them chase after us, adrenaline shot through my veins.
We came to the edge and saw the roof of the second floor wasn’t
that far of a jump. I glanced at Jessica and she gave me a nervous
look. They both jumped first while I watched the people get closer
and closer.

I slid down so I was sitting on the edge of
the roof and sidled off. I hit the tiles and pain shot through my
whole body, sending me gasping for air. I let out a small moan and
fell momentarily to my knees. I clenched my fists as Jessica helped
me to my feet and we began to run again.

I heard the people jump down to the roof
after us.

All of a sudden Jessica slipped, letting out
a small shriek. She fell to the tiles and started to slide toward
the edge, her elbows scraping on a spare tile.

“Jessica!” I couldn’t help but cry. I reached
out to grab her wrist, and she slid to a stop. By now Michael was
at my side. We pulled her up and continued on our way, noticing
that our pursuers had gained on us.

All of a sudden we came to the edge. With a
shot of dread I saw that there was nothing below us to jump on. I
looked around in panic and caught sight of the man and woman only
about twenty feet away. Michael grabbed my arm. “We need to jump,”
he said, pointing to another roof of the same height. I looked at
it dubiously. There was at least a ten foot gap between us and the
other roof. And two stories to fall if you didn’t make it.

“There’s no other way,” Michael said
firmly.

I nodded and so did Jessica, although her
face was white. She jumped first and I held my breath until she was
safely upon the other roof. I watched as Michael quickly followed
her, and I began to doubt if I could actually make it. Any other
time, I knew I could, but I had just been recently shot. My whole
body ached terribly and my head was still fuzzy from the
anesthesia.

“Drew!” Michael’s frantic voice called me
from my worried thoughts. I realized the man and woman were only a
few feet away and running at full speed toward me. I gave them one
last glance and then jumped, leaving behind any inhibitions and
knowing this was my only chance to get away.

I saw the roof coming nearer and nearer but
only a fraction of a second after I jumped, I knew I wasn’t going
to make it. I watched as I fell short of the roof’s edge by only a
few inches, my fingers barely scraping against the shingles.

I heard Michael shout out my name and
Jessica’s scream as I plummeted downward toward the hard, cement
pavement.

Chapter Six

I saw Michael
frantically reach for my hand, but he was too far away for me to
grasp. I fell quickly downward past windows and ledges.
I can’t
die,
I told myself.
I can’t die!
But then I wondered if
falling two stories would really kill me. After all, I was an
android, supposedly indestructible.

No, I probably wouldn’t die, but I wouldn’t
be able to just walk away from it either. And I couldn’t go back to
the hospital.

I reached out swiftly and frantically to grab
the edge of a windowsill, determination surging through me. My
hands scraped against the brick, leaving a stinging sensation on my
fingers and palms. The rest of my body jerked to a halt and another
wave of pain shot through my back. I let out a small cry and
desperately gripped the windowsill.

I heard the scream of the woman who had been
following us, and I looked up to see her watching me with her hand
over her mouth.

“Drew!” I heard Jessica scream.

I used my arms and upper body to pull myself
up as far as I could on the window ledge, ignoring the racing pain
that throbbed throughout my back as I did so. I knew there was no
way I was going to be able to get up to Jessica and Michael, but I
couldn’t tell them to meet me somewhere with that man and woman
right there watching me. “I’m okay,” I called up to them, my voice
somewhat strained.

I saw the woman lean over and whisper
something to the man. He darted away, back the way they came.

I looked around and saw that I could probably
reach the next ledge down then jump to the pavement below. “I’ll
meet you at the ground,” I called out to Jessica and Michael,
thinking there was no other way to tell them without the woman
knowing. I started to climb downward, hanging onto the ledge and
dropping briefly until I hit the next one. In less than a minute I
was on the ground and running. With every step, pain stabbed
through my back like a knife, but I clenched my teeth and kept
going.

Parking lot, where was the parking lot? I
remembered being in the car—the rumbling, the jostling. They must
have brought me here in the car and that’s where Jessica and
Michael would be heading. I raced around the side of the building
but saw a vast amount of cars filling up a multilevel parking
garage. I felt my heart sink. I would never find it.

I heard footsteps racing around the corner
after me and I quickly ducked behind a large truck. I heard voices
and saw the man who had chased me walking slowly around, searching.
I held my breath as he walked by, watching his shoes from under the
truck.

Suddenly he jerked around the side of the
vehicle and spotted me. I jumped up and was about to run when he
grabbed the back of my shirt. “No, wait!” he shouted
desperately.

I whirled around and whacked his arm away
from me. He stepped back, holding his wrist, and stared at me in
shock from how hard I had hit him. Thankfully, he wasn’t a creator
and didn’t seem to know the first thing about apprehending
androids. By the looks of him, he didn’t know the first thing about
apprehending
anybody
.

A moment later, I heard a car motor revving
and looked up to see Yvonne’s car driving speedily toward me,
driven by Michael with Jessica in the passenger seat. The car
skidded to a stop next to me and I darted toward it, opened the
door, and jumped in. As soon as I shut the door, Michael slammed on
the gas pedal and we were racing away.

I leaned back against the seat and heaved a
sigh of relief, closing my eyes momentarily. Jessica turned around
to face me. “Are you okay, Drew?” Her face was completely serious
and her voice was quiet. “You fell a long ways,” she added,
slightly awed.

I smiled weakly at her. “I’m an android
remember?”

“Yeah...” she trailed off momentarily, “but
you’ve just been shot.”

I nodded and grimaced at the pain. “Yeah. It
hurts.”

Jessica’s worried expression darkened.

“A lot,” I added.

“You need to take it easy from here on out,”
Michael said, and from his tone I knew he was upset about leaving
the hospital.

I shrugged and leaned back against the seat.
I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the car as we made
our way up the mountain and back to the house. Normally, I would
have cringed at the thought of that old rundown shack, but
anywhere
away from someone chasing us sounded good right
now.

I eventually felt the car come to a stop and
waited until I heard the opening of doors before I opened my eyes.
I slowly climbed out after them, ignoring the aching pain and
followed them into the house.

I headed straight for the couch and lay down
immediately, ignoring the dirt and dust as I closed my eyes.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Drew?” Jessica
asked me, although her voice sounded faded.

“I’ll be fine,” I replied, my eyes still
closed.

I listened to Michael and Jessica shuffle
around a bit and eventually situate themselves on the floor.

My mind was starting to get fuzzy again and I
could feel myself drifting off to sleep. But suddenly I heard a
noise. A soft, shuffling noise. Was that a car? I desperately
didn’t want to have to open my eyes and see.

I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder and I
stifled a groan. “Drew, someone’s here,” Michael’s whisper called
through my half asleep mind. “And I don’t think its Yvonne or
Jeremy.”

I reluctantly opened my eyes and sat up. I
stood clumsily and made my way to the window.

Once I looked through I was instantly awake,
all the sleepiness and fuzziness gone. I saw a man climbing out of
a car that was parked outside the house. He looked around him, an
expression of disgust on his face. He stared at the window and our
eyes met.

I froze. I couldn’t look away, couldn’t move.
I was terrified.

It was Glen.

Chapter Seven

I backed quickly away
from the window, almost stumbling over a loose floorboard in the
process. “It’s Glen,” I said, barely breathing.

“What?” Jessica’s voice was edged with panic,
although I knew she had no idea who he was.

“One of the creators,” I explained. I looked
frantically around and in relief I spotted a window at the back of
the room. “We need to get out of here—now.”