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Familial Ties · InkandNeon | Speculative Fiction Stories

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I felt the drops of acrid rain against the rusted
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exterior of the makeshift sanctuary I had carved
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from the bowels of this decrepit place, falling
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like vague broken promises. I couldn't help but
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trace the sound back to the steadier ocean of
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myself, my failings as a friend, as a colleague,
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and... Ink, are you okay? Neon's hands settled
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upon my shoulder. Her touch was gentle and surprisingly
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warm. Artificial, yes, but seeming so much more
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human than whatever was behind my own skin. I
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am fine, I replied. Her fingers caught slowly
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back into her palm as she withdrew. Lately, she
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had grown far bolder with touch, seeking out
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excuses to reach across the desk. to steady a
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hand or brush a sleeve at every chance she got,
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or was I just simply looking too much into it?
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Early on I had taken note of the draw and drag
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of this place, the ceaseless ebb and flow, the
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brutal dichotomy of coral city and the trenches.
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Now effortlessly the rot could seep into a man,
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yet neon, innocently enough, still believed in
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the goodness In the goodness that might be salvaged.
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In the fun that could still be found deep within
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its cracks. How I wished my eyes could catch
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even the faintest glimpse of the hope she saw.
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Oh, how I would revel in its color, its splendor.
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My monitor began to flicker and warp. The signal
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stuttering just as I'd barely started to unravel
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the latest reporting. What's that? Neon asked,
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stepping into my shadow with an anxious flutter
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and a static. Could be nothing, I murmured, but
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to lie would be reckless. Especially to myself.
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Stay here, let me investigate. My words fell
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on Neon's impatient frightened ears like shadows
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thrown across a cracked mirror. Wait, please!
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Her soft buzzing hands clamped down around my
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wrists. I didn't fight the kinetic grip of her
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nanites. I simply stopped and turned to face
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her. Copy everything. My voice low and stripped
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of panic. Doesn't matter the order. If I don't
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come back, delete the petition and leave. Run.
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I wanted to console her in some small way. Maybe
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a hand on her shoulder, a palm against her cheek.
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But instead I forced a sharp scar against her
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hesitation. Now, neon. I tore my arm from hers
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and dragged open the heavy hideout door. My hunters
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had finally come for me. The ping rattling through
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my audio senses was a customary execution order.
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Come out or we will burn Foundation. There was
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only one person who knew me well enough not to
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fear me, yet remained foolish enough to believe
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he could take me alive. A heavy quiet gripped
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the perimeter. Hello, old friend. into the harsh
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yellow pool of an auxiliary generator. Vance,
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I spat. Foolish, as always. My words tore through
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a thin veil of an old operational history, a
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camaraderie that had never been more than a convenient
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mask for corporate sycophants. Ink, was it now?
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I must ask, did I ever actually know your true
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name? Vance's combat ringed hiss as his hydraulic
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joints took up the slack. He pulled a deep, final
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lungful of smoke before tossing the butt to the
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wet ground and grinding it out beneath his heel.
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Why have you come? I asked, keeping my center
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low. Your brief was likely to capture me, but
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you brought such dull blades and roots. Behind
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him, the shadows stirred with hostility. But
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Vance raised a single open hand, snapping their
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bickering mouths shut like leashed kennel hounds.
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If your mother never teaches you, Link, you're
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far more likely to get cut on a dull blade. Enough
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memetics. We both know how this ends for you.
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My index finger tapped a rhythmic count against
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my thumb, sinking to the feet of the hideout's
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final dying sensor line. verifying Neon's compliance
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in the terminal deck. No wonder. Do you even
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know the fate of your family? Vance's words spewed
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like venom from a sack. I am aware. Such cruel
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words do not do you any dignity. You are but
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the child desperate to carve your path through
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the shadow of your better. Vance took a single
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step forward, ensuring I could see him in his
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full transformed state. It matters not what I
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achieve, who I silence, whom I kill. That the
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UCPA would take you back in a heartbeat is a
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sting like no other. But I fear for your family.
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What is even left of them to save? A silent message
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thrown to my companion went thankfully unheard.
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Parents chose euthanization. Your brothers exiled
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here to the trenches? I wonder if you even recognize
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them now. And your dear, sweet sisters. Three,
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was it? Oh, well, I hear the Wildcat Mining Company
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is just so delighted to take them off our hands.
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The words run like a bell down a lonely mineshaft.
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Long have I carved the feelings of anger and
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regret from those walls. Time had repined my
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emotions more than any old friend's hate -filled
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words. I'm done, Link. Her voice whispered directly
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across my comms, a clean pin popping loose from
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a live grenade. Now, Vance barked. I dropped
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behind, the fight still generated a housing,
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just as a deafening wall of shrapnel spewed through
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the concrete and corrugated paneling above me.
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Like fire hammered the alley. gouging trenches
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into the pavement. Blindly, I raised my sidearm
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and squeezed three rapid rounds around the bulkhead.
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Come on, you're better than that. Vance bellowed
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over the roaring of shredding lead. I didn't
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answer. A command prompt flooded my retinal display
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and I fired off an archaic execution string.
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Overhead, the white deployment canisters ruptured
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with a concussive blast, dumping a blinding wall
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of smoke and president's char. but the smoke
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was just a distraction. Deep beneath Vance's
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boots, the hydraulic seals in the lower containment
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grates released with a deafening metallic screech.
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The swarm of gremlins had been skimming off for
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months. Starved, feral, and maddened by the sudden
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sense of eight high -voltage combat chassis surged
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out the sewer pipes. In an instant, Vance's ordered
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firing line dissolved into screams. Wild, blind
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firing into the fog, and a wet, tearing crunch
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of feral husks ripping through powered armor.
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I turned and bolted back inside the cabin, slamming
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the reinforced door shut. What? What happened?
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Neons swirled around me, violet static pulsing
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erratically across their form. They're occupied,
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but not for long. I didn't hesitate. I reached
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across the terminal and flipped the red protective
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cover off. primary breaker console. I drove my
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thumb down the thermal overload switch. The console
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screens flared white as hot as the system began
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a silent countdown. I grabbed my pre -packed
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supplier duffel, rattling heavy with a dozen
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fresh battery cells for my glowing companion,
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then kicked the rear egress panel open. The false
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metal backing fell away with a hollow clang.
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Take my hand, I ordered. Neon's fingers interlocked
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around mine. We threw ourselves out into the
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rear drainage alley, smashing through torn sheets
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of industrial utility plastic. Behind us, through
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a storm, the screams of Ansa Squad grew louder.
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Think what is that? Gremlins, keep moving. We
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don't have time. Neon's blinding hard light radiance
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drew one of the stragglers up from the unsealed
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storm drain ahead of us. It lunged, neural cables
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whipping wildly from its cracked chassis. I hauled
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her sideways of everything I had. The sheer momentum
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tore her hard, light arm clean off at the elbow,
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lingering in my grip like cold liquid static
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before snapping back into her frame. Up ahead,
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a circular maintenance intake blocked our path.
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I threw the lock lever and hauled the latch open.
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Down, neon, go. She surrendered, her solid form
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flowing down the dark throat of the pipe like
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a beam of water. The charging gremlin snapped
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at my collar, chlorine scraping against my augmentations.
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I drove the palm of my hand into its cranial
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casing, jamming its logic array and tripping
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its pins into a diagnostic restart loop. It froze
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mid -bite and would bias the final seconds we
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needed. I dropped into the pipe, hauling the
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heavy circular hatch shut behind me. Just as
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the latch locked, time had expired. Through feet
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of solid concrete and steel pipes, a deep incusive
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whomp rattled the entire drainage network. Power
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core detonated in a white -hot electric inferno,
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scouring the sanctuary, the terminal, and whatever
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was left in that alley into absolute slag. The
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shockwave sent me skinning down the slick curvature
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of the industrial duct. Halfway down, I collided
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directly into neon. We had waited in the dark
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chute to ensure I had made it. A buzzing form
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braced against mine, and together we tumbled,
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clattered and scraped through the roaring throat
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of the drainage system, until finally the dark
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gave way to a cold, pale light at the end. The
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smell of freshly seasoned proteins filled the
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air, as dark oil bubbled from a busy kitchen,
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the clattering of my feet. Having hit a bakery
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stack went unnoticed as I rushed to slam close
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the pipe. Wow, what is this place? Neon's eyes
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and body wandered. It quickly occurred to me
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that she hadn't been outside. I hadn't seen the
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world. But more troubling, the world hadn't seen
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her. Need to adjust a hard line. Right now, I
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ordered. Stripping my jacket from my shoulders,
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Neon's body began to solidify. The once -loose
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pinks and blue coalesced into stronger, darker
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colors. I wrapped my jacket around her and buttoned
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up the midsection. Just keep your head down.
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You shouldn't stand out. I hesitated, but then
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I moved to the corridor's end. My steps were
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interrupted by a large, imposing woman with cybernetic
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joints slick with oil, and a surprised smile
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rose on her face. Dean! What a surprise! Why
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you sco - The woman stopped, looking over my
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shoulder at the anxious neon clutching her coat.
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Who's the dame? Are you two? Are you two in trouble?
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A smile turned into a hard expression of worry
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as she opened the office door beside us. Margaret,
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I am sorry to impose on you like this. I answered
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her question. As I walked with neon into the
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room, neon smiled as she waved. So, are you guys
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drunk, or sleeping off a high? Why are you doing
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it in my pipes?" Margaret approached her long
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silver bench. Various recipes hung from the walls,
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with ingredients of enigmatic origins laid there.
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Neither, but if anyone asks, then yes, I replied.
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Her unease not at all placated as she shuffled
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in her chair. Who is she? I realized now that
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Margaret's attention was on nothing but Neon,
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the faint glow with her body radiating from beneath
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the jacket and onto the walls as she examined
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their contents. Neon, she's a friend, I answered.
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Well, I'm Ink's friend. Neon turned with a grateful
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expression. Ink? Margaret sighed, taking a bottle
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from her desk and loading three glasses. My name's
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not Dean. You know that Margaret Yeah, but it's
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a comfortable line Thinks even less of a name.
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She smiled, but I placed my hand over the offered
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glass We can't stay. It's dangerous. Oh, I suppose
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this means I'll need to get another to look for
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the sensations for me then Margaret let out a
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long breath as she rolled her fingers through
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her hair. I'm sorry. I watched as Margaret nodded
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chugging back mouthfuls of the liquor as she
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rummaged down the back of her desk. It's alright,
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team. I was saving this for when you finally
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came around on that hash brown software, but
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I guess your birthday came early. Margaret slid
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towards me a small metallic box, beckoning me
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to open it. The neon walked over, ears pricked
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at the word birthday, and the thought of a mysterious
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box. I opened the box slowly with Neon beside
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me to reveal a vehicle key alongside a cache
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of Ace and five battery cells. Hey, I know those
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things. Neon said happily, her hand taking one
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of the batteries and quickly nanites from somewhere
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within her absorbed the entire construct. Huh,
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well, you sure know how to pick them. Margaret
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smiled, her finger wagging in the air. as she
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disappeared through a curtain out back neon you've
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got to be more more clandestine about your nature
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i closed the box and tucked it into the satchel
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at my side i'm sorry i thought she was a friend
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or two i was foolish to bring neon along not
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foolish to save her but to have not prepared
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her for this moment as well as i should have
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thanks margaret i really do appreciate it My
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words that reached her at the back were soon
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followed by a welcome and the rattling of the
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beaded curtain as she returned. Here, in clothes
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that will make your friend look a little less,
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a little less like a stripper. Margaret revealed
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clothes that were far too small to be her own,
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but were very neatly packed, seam pressed and
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cared for. Where? Why? I asked. Concerned, welting
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in my mind about her kindness. I might surprise
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you I had a daughter once until this dreadful
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city took her from me. Margaret went through
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the clothes with a gleefully happy neon. I'm
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sorry. I'm sorry. I never do. Of course not.
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I never told you. But I think she would approve.
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You'd best take care of him. Margaret helped
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neon undo the jacket and toss it my way. I kept
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my anxieties to myself. I watched as Neon happily
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interchanged clothes with Margaret, learning
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how to fold them and pack them back into the
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sleeves, and how she learned colour palettes.
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It was surprising not only to watch Neon interact
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with someone human, but to see Margaret as someone
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so new. I had thought myself a master of disguise,
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but not once. Did I think such a secret hid behind
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her? So what do you think? Neon asked, standing
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before me, breaking my concentration in that
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dark set of clothes, long boots, and thick stockings
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that hid most her legs. Practical, I nodded,
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but from behind Neon's quiet sigh, I seen a Margaret
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rolling her hands. You look great. Beautiful.
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The neon's face lit up shyly, hiding under the
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collar of the cut half jacket. Alright, the vehicle
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was at the service entrance. It's marked for
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all zones but the industrial area. It should
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get you someplace safe. With one final, excruciatingly
18:56
tight hug, Margaret reluctantly let us go. I'd
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moved around a lot in my time, both before and
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after the UCPA. But leaving behind Margaret in
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that dingy cafe was by far the hardest. I owed
19:13
that feeling to Neon. Watching her interact and
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enjoy such trivial matters, I worked something
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in me. Something I was afraid of. Something I
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wish had stayed buried. Not one customer or worker
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gave Neon and I a second look. To them, we were
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just another set of drifters. Neon understood
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quickly to keep her eyes forward. but it came
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at the cost of her arm wrapped around mine, a
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trade I had to take to ensure we got out of there.
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The atmosphere opened to us as the door slung
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open. The sounds of foundries bursting in the
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distance were smothered in that of the rolling
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sounds of transit lines going back and forth.
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Other cars and vehicles drove along the streets
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in front of us, speeds that proved to me that
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there was no immediate danger, no lockdown in
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place. Whatever powers that had allowed Vance
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to track me down, held none over the residents
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of Coral City. I didn't realize there was so
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much space. Neon held me tighter as she nervously
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tracked lightbeds that moved along the upper
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railings. I'll get you someplace safe, and you
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won't have to seek it all again. I said, hoping
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to comfort her, but my words seemed to cause
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her grip to loosen. i would like to see it she
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replied as i began to match the vehicle's keys
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with its id look it's not safe out here i replied
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as i found the matching vehicle it was a type
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5 pickup van nothing special but held enough
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space for us both with change it also came with
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the additional benefit of archaic software meaning
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it was nil trackable i know you're lying neon
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stopped between myself and the door of the car
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What? I know you're looking for your family,
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and that you hate yourself for it, and that you're
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hiding just like me. Neon innocently traced her
21:21
finger over the dust of the van's door. You don't
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know what you're talking about. I gently placed
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my hand on Neon's hip and moved her aside, unlocking
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the van door. Come on, get in. I wanted to say
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it in a way that was gentle, but I had marked
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it like an order. I feel like every time you
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talk to me you lie. I don't know who you are.
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You don't talk to me about things and I just
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don't know if I can do it anymore. Neon didn't
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budge. Instead she clutched a bag of clothes
21:55
to her chest. There's a difference, Neon, between
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a liar and being dishonest. Any lie I have told
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is to protect people. When you're up against
22:08
a corporation that weaponizes the truth. It's
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all I have. I'm grateful you saved me, but...
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I don't know you. You never tell me these things.
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You just... I do everything you ask, and still,
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we've got nowhere. Neon took a step back, her
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eyes just connected from mine. Neon? If you wanna
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go your own way, that's fine. But not like this.
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It's too dangerous. I just wish you would have
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talked to me more. Like... like a person not
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like this thing neon turned and for the first
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time since i met her i seen her back wait i raised
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my hand and pulled myself from the car yes neon
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asked her eyes looked everywhere but at me aside
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taking in a deep long breath stop kidding yourself
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what you're not a person wearing the clothes
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of a dead girl doesn't give you the same rights.
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I watched as her shoulders dropped, her face
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twisted. What are you saying? I'm telling you
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the truth. If you leave now, I'll give you the
23:27
cells I have, but you won't last long. Do you
23:30
know how much power you consume? I captured the
23:34
gremlins to charge the batteries. Rare as they
23:37
are, I risked everything to ensure you could
23:40
be maintained. No, you're lying. You needed it
23:46
for the setup, the station. Neon staggered backwards.
23:50
I could charge everything I own, including myself
23:54
on just one cellar gear. You go through one a
23:58
week, and that's at your lowest capacity. Maybe
24:03
in a few weeks, you'll fade away into nothing.
24:07
So if you want to live like a regular person,
24:12
then you'll have about a week. But in that time...
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Well, a woman like Margaret lost her daughter.
24:21
You don't stand a chance. Why are you saying
24:24
it like that? Why do you have to be so cruel?
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I watched my sisters get dragged away. I have
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to sleep listening to their screams in my head.
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I have to hear the voices of my parents gargle
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and die as a malefico code flooded their veins.
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I go every day. wondering if I just killed one
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of my own brothers. I approached Neon with my
24:51
hands grabbing her shoulders. She pushed back
24:54
but I held on, gently covering my forehead to
24:57
hers. All because I told them the truth. I thought
25:03
I was doing the right thing, but had I been cruel,
25:08
had I lied, they might still be alive, and I
25:14
will not lose you too. Neon. I pulled her in
25:19
close. My arms wrapped around her back, holding
25:21
her tightly. Neon didn't fight back. Her arms
25:26
wrapped around me, squeezing. I leaned to her
25:30
side and whispered my real name. I know. Boring,
25:38
right? Yeah, kind of on her down. Neon smiled.
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We sat down in the van, Neon opposite me, enjoying
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the last few minutes we had with this... Small
25:51
but familiar landscape the vans engine rubble
25:55
as neon lean against a window We merged with
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the swarm vehicles You didn't mean it right when
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you said I wasn't a human her eyes drifted into
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the distance Talking each and every car that
26:13
moved past us. I said you weren't a person neon
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I never once doubted your humanity My words reached
26:23
Neil as she faded off into sleep. Absorbing that
26:26
cell must have taken it out of her and remain
26:30
in a hard light mode couldn't have helped. Good
26:37
night and good luck.