"Yes, but you manufacture devastating weapons of mass destruction on a near-daily basis. And you also hang out in abandoned subway stations with fugitive robots," The Afterdark pointed out. "That AI was unlucky as Hell."
Nell made a mumbling sound. Her face was pressed against the table and smothered further by her arms. Her ponytail had been undone, and her greasy orange-brown hair flopped in all directions.
"Sorry about your robot," Derek sighed. "Please don't get blood or tears or anything else gross on my kitchen table."
----------
Nell's bruises throbbed so powerfully that she thought Derek might be able to hear. She took ice from his fridge and put it on the injuries, but it didn't help.
----------
Derek allowed Nell to have his bed again that night (with a stern warning about bleeding on the sheets). He was becoming accustomed to sleeping on his couch anyway. Not that he did too much sleeping at night.
The television reported the deaths of eleven people in a forest, but the story was sidelined and no information was given on the men who had died. Based on the snippets of thoughts and memories he'd stolen from the men with their helmets off, they were mercenaries. The Afterdark wondered where Seer had acquired the money to pay them, and then realized that he'd probably tricked them with illusions of cash.
Duh, Derek thought. He rolled his eyes at himself.
All the artificial lights were off, and the only light by which to see came from the small, Plexiglas skylights in the roof. It was a cloudy night, but the moon was full, so there was some soft blue light here and there. It was more than enough for The Afterdark's eyes, and he surveyed his domain as a king. It was different with Nell as a roommate, but he wasn't sure what exactly had changed.
Nell made a mumbling sound. Her face was pressed against the table and smothered further by her arms. Her ponytail had been undone, and her greasy orange-brown hair flopped in all directions.
"Sorry about your robot," Derek sighed. "Please don't get blood or tears or anything else gross on my kitchen table."
----------
Nell's bruises throbbed so powerfully that she thought Derek might be able to hear. She took ice from his fridge and put it on the injuries, but it didn't help.
----------
Derek allowed Nell to have his bed again that night (with a stern warning about bleeding on the sheets). He was becoming accustomed to sleeping on his couch anyway. Not that he did too much sleeping at night.
The television reported the deaths of eleven people in a forest, but the story was sidelined and no information was given on the men who had died. Based on the snippets of thoughts and memories he'd stolen from the men with their helmets off, they were mercenaries. The Afterdark wondered where Seer had acquired the money to pay them, and then realized that he'd probably tricked them with illusions of cash.
Duh, Derek thought. He rolled his eyes at himself.
All the artificial lights were off, and the only light by which to see came from the small, Plexiglas skylights in the roof. It was a cloudy night, but the moon was full, so there was some soft blue light here and there. It was more than enough for The Afterdark's eyes, and he surveyed his domain as a king. It was different with Nell as a roommate, but he wasn't sure what exactly had changed.
