I was just a machine, but it wasn't really me... (Connor x OC) D: BH

༻ 38, An eye for an eye and the world goes blind ༺

CONNOR'S POV

We swam into the harbor as soon as the explosives detonated and the soldiers of the army were evacuated. Everything was shining in golden and orange colors, the sinking ship was on fire. Fortunately, hundreds of us survived the attack, but countless androids gave their life.

"We need to go! We can't stay here!" Markus said as he helped our people to climb out of the water.

"Go? Go where?" North asked back, staring at the burning ship.

"Th... There is an aba... There is an abandoned cathedral not so far fro... From here... The Saint Rose cathedral... Less tha... Than a mile north..." Rose advised, sitting on the cold ground. She was shivering since we climbed out of the river. The water was freezing, maybe a couple of degrees over... I checked her health condition without a word.

Sync in progress... Sync done... Collecting data... Processing data; Body temperature 35,5°C. Chance of survival: 91%.

"Rose... You're freezing cold!" I said with worry in my voice as I pulled her into an embrace, then carefully stood up with her. I instantly activated my body temperature to warm her up.

"I can ta... Take it..." she protested, then buried her face to my chest. "Once we've went to... To ice skating with my fam... Family out on Lake Michigan. I fell thr... Through some thin ice. That was co... Colder..." she told me with a small chuckle at the end, then closed her eyes.

"We have to hurry! Let's go!" Markus spoke up, then finally we headed north in the snowfall at night. Soon we found the huge abandoned cathedral that provided shelter for all of us. There were holes on the roof and some windows were broken, so the fresh snow fell in, but we didn't pay attention to it. I sat down on a stone bench in a corner of the cathedral, then finally I glanced at Rose. Her beautiful face was illuminated by the moonlight through the rosette window.

Sync in progress... Sync done... Collecting data... Processing data; Body temperature 37,3°C. Chance of survival: 99%.

She was sleeping peacefully in my arms, since she was totally exhausted. As I was watching her my lips curled into a smile, but after a few moments my smile disappeared. 'It's my fault... Everything is my fault...' Rose almost paid with her life for my freedom. I wished I would have woken up sooner and then all of this wouldn't have happened, but it was too late. I couldn't turn back the wheel of time... After a little while everything went silent around us. Only the whispers were echoing in the huge hall of the cathedral. I was staring the hundreds of LED lights shining in the darkness when Rose finally woke up.

"How do you feel?" I asked her as she closed her eyes again.

"I'm fine, but... I'm scared..." she admitted honestly. I was scared too.

"Everything will be fine!" I tried to reassure her, but I didn't know either what was waiting for us in the future.

"Connor... If we won't survive this night..."

"But we will, Rose!" I protested, then I smiled at her. "And after we gain our freedom, no one will be able to separate us from each other. I promised you that we're going to stay together. Forever... Till the end of your life..." I whispered in a gentle voice and finally a smile spread across her face.

"How's Rose?" Markus asked me as he was walking toward us.

"Much better now." I replied. "But she's exhausted."

"And I'm getting hungry..." Rose added with a small chuckle, then glanced up at the leader of the deviants. "What happened to the other androids?" Markus sighed, the answered the question.