kara gripped alice's hand, leading her down the staircase. she ran towards the door and unlocked it, glancing over her shoulder every so often.
blood was splattered across the front of her uniform, specifically todd's blood. she had shot him once he attacked her just moments before.
the two ran out into the rain and immediately alice pulled kara down the sidewalk.
"come on, kara!" alice called as she led her to the house next to her own, or what was once her own.
"but, alice the bus-" kara tried to stop the small girl as she tugged her to the front door. the bus passed them once kara had unsuccessfully stopped alice.
alice stopped in front of the door and knocked on it.
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lyra placed the containers of leftovers from that night's dinner in the refrigerator. she cleaned up the kitchen and switched on the television. she flicked through different channels before ending up on the news.
the news woman on the television was currently discussing the large increase of deviants before someone knocked on lyra's front door frantically.
she sighed and turned the television's volume down. lyra opened the door and her eyes widened. alice stood in front of a female android who's dress seemed to be coated in someone's blood. lyra didn't wanna know who's blood it was.
alice latched herself onto lyra's waist as tears streamed down her face silently. lyra put the pieces together quite quickly and ushered the android inside, shutting the door behind her.
once she got alice to calm down and they had moved to the living room, lyra had fetched a blanket for alice and they all sat down on her couch.
kara watched how attached alice was to lyra as she never really seemed to leave her side expect for when lyra left to get a blanket.
after a moment of complete silence lyra spoke up gently, "do you wanna talk about what happened?"
alice shook her head and lyra turned to kara.
"i never caught your name."
"my name's kara," the android spoke, surprised by how lyra treated her. as if she wasn't just a piece of plastic.
lyra smiled, "my name is lyra, my mother loved constellations i guess. i can go get you two some clean clothing? you must be freezing."
kara nodded and lyra left to get clothing. kara and alice took turns changing in a bathroom and soon after, alice fell asleep in the guest bedroom. lyra and kara were left alone in the living room.
"if you don't mind me asking," kara begun. "how are alice and you so close?"
lyra looked up and their eyes met before she cleared her throat. "uh, i'm guessing after you left, things got bad. alice came here one night, arrived at my front door, and her cheek was bruised. she told me that . . ." lyra stopped for a moment as her eyes welled with tears.
"that her dad hit her. so, i let her stay the night. and after that night, she came more and more. it never got better. i would do all the things todd wouldn't and should've as a parent. i let her eat and sleep here. i just- i wanted her to know that when he got drunk, she was always safe here," lyra spoke softly, her voice cracking at the end. "she deserves better, you know."
kara listened carefully, staying completely silent. lyra did nothing but take care of alice and treat alice like a daughter, leading kara to respect the woman more and more.
"well," lyra awkwardly wiped away any stray tears. "you guys can stay for the night, but tomorrow you have to leave. the police will get news of the situation soon and it's best that you aren't found. i'll give you guys some money and maybe, that'll help to stay in a hotel for a few nights."
kara nodded, "i can't even start to thank you. you've been unbelievably kind to us." and it was true, kara was extremely grateful for lyra. yet what had confused her was the police badge on lyra's dining table.
a police detective helping an android, specifically a deviant android.
lyra smiled, "it's quite late, you can sleep in my bed tonight. i'll take the couch."
kara would've argued that androids didn't need sleep and that even if they did she would've taken the couch, but she couldn't bring herself to agrue with lyra. instead she nodded and allowed lyra to direct kara towards her bedroom and say goodnight.
kara looked around the bedroom which was especially clean. she had few pictures of family members and who kara assumed to be her coworkers on the walls. the walls were painted a light yellow which suited lyra's personality perfectly.
a small smile made its way onto kara's face as she glanced at the pictures once last time before entering the bathroom in lyra's room. she shut the door behind her and stood in front of the mirror.
a pair of scissors were on the counter next to the sink. kara took them and begun cutting her hair until it was a short length. if she and alice were going to be on the run, she couldn't risk the police finding her. kara settled on dying her hair a gray shade and left her hair alone instead moving onto her led.
kara returned to the scissors and pulled on the led until it shot out, into the sink beside her once-blonde hair. she cleaned up the mess, dumping it into a trash bin beside the sink.
kara turned off the bathroom light and went back to the bedroom. she pulled back the covers on the bed and got under them. kara pulled them up to her chin and reached out from under the covers and turned the lamp on the nightstand off, consuming the room in darkness.
downstairs, lyra had shut off the television and walked upstairs quietly. she pushed open the guest bedroom door and smiled once she spotted alice sleeping peacefully. lyra shut the door again and moved towards her own bedroom.
she hestianted before opening the door. lyra eyes settled upon kara's asleep figure. surprisingly there wasn't a led on her temple. lyra assumed kara removed it alongside most of her hair. the former thought it suited her better and smiled before shutting the door and going back downstairs.
lyra had gotten another blanket and pillow from a closet and set them on the couch. she laid down underneath the blanket and soon after, lyra fell asleep.
