The night was over too quickly.

You only remembered laying your head on Connor's chest, his breathing, mixed with the warmth of his body.

In that moment the world had felt so soft, so perfect that you really thought everything would turn out fine.

Then morning came.

As soon as you opened your eyes, drunk with sleep and love, you knew something was off.

As if struck by lightning you sat up straight.

Connor was still laying next to you. Androids didn't sleep, but he had a resting mode to go easy on his battery.

With his eyes closed he was snuggled up into the blankets. His bare chest was kissed by the pale morning sun.

It was a gloomy day, many clouds and almost no sunlight. It was just bright outside.

"Connor!", you shook him awake and jumped out of bed in the next second. "Are you awake?"

Humming, he sat up straight and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm a machine.", he said and yawned. "I don't sleep. I'm always awake."

You tossed some clothes for him on the bed.

"Get dressed. We need to be quick."

He looked around.

"Is something wrong?"

For a second you stopped in your hurry and threw a glance outside the window.

The farm seemed as if it was deserted. The wind chased dusty clouds across the fields.

But everything was silent.

Not even the animals were making a single sound.

With a concerned look you turned away again and continued to get dressed.

"I don't know.", you admitted and jumped into your pants. "Something feels off."

Without asking a second time he put on his clothes as well an followed you out of the room into the corridor.

Your eyes wandered down to the last door.

It was your parents bedroom. You wanted to go down there and say goodbye, maybe it would be the very last time. But waking them up and putting them into shock because of this sudden departure would only be unnecessary stress.

You would be able to see them at some point, you were sure of it.

Still, leaving without a proper goodbye or seeing their faces one last time hurt you. It felt like you were leaving them behind in this mess that you caused.

But you knew that CyberLife wouldn't be able to endanger them. The contract was under your name and you had read it multiple times before signing. Your family and friends were safe.

At least if the company had to stick to the law.

Behind you, Connor moved. He placed a hand on your shoulder to get attention.

"I think I know what you're feeling.", he said with a strange look in his eyes and threw a glance over his shoulder. "We should get going."

One last time you looked back to the door behind which your parents were sleeping. Then you nodded.

"Let's get to the car.", you agreed and walked down the stairs.

But you stopped halfway through the living room.

Sounds filled the silence.

The dog was awake, you could tell by the tapping sound of his four paws and the heavy breathing.

But Olli wasn't alone.

Someone was in the kitchen, scratching and petting him.

Quickly, you exchanged a gaze with Connor.

He nodded, confirming that the sounds were real and he did hear them too.

For once, you weren't imagining things.

"To the back door.", you whispered and walked backwards, eyes firmly fixed onto the archway that connected the kitchen to the living room.

Below your feet the wood screeched.

Your heath skipped a beat.

Olli moved in the kitchen. His paw sounds came closer. All of a sudden his head popped into sight.

His tongue was handing out of the side of his mouth. His head tilted to the side as his eyes noticed you and Connor.

You froze.

Olli's ears rose. He noticed you.

Your heart started to beat wildly inside your chest.

One wrong sound from this dog and it would all be over.

He stepped into the room. His tail was wagging.

All of a sudden you felt Connor's hand on your shoulder. Carefully he pulled you back, right towards the back door.

You didn't even know if the door was unlocked. Usually your parents locked their doors, but mom had complained about dad leaving the back door unlocked every so often since moving to the farm.

If you lived in the middle of nowhere there wasn't really a reason to keep doors locked.

All you hoped for was that dad has had a good enough night yesterday to not waste a care about locking the back door.

"Who's a good boy?", Connor asked in a calm voice and lowered his hand to calmly call the dog to his side.

You bit your lip, trying to suppress a scream of frustration and held back fear.

Olli lowered his head and slowly started to approach. The clicking of his tags on the collar filled the air with such a tension that it could have been cut with a knife.

Someone moved in the kitchen.

Olli stopped mid way to look back. His tail was wagging, but not as much as it usually did. He was cautious but whoever was sitting in the kitchen had been smart enough to make friends with him.

Maybe it was dad.

Or mom.

But a painful gut feeling told you it would be unwise to go and check.

Connor used the short moment of the dog being distracted to pull you into the small entrance area to the back door.

You reached out and turned the nob.

With a click, the lock jumped open.

"The door is old, Connor.", you said and locked eyes with him. "It will make sounds. We can't prevent that."

Understanding, he nodded.

"We should get to the car quickly then.", he whispered.

"If someone's here they have the car. Let's see if it's safe, otherwise we need to take the old one in the barn."

He frowned.

"But our supplies are in the car."

"I know. But it's better not get caught and go empty handed than have luggage and get caught."

He nodded.

"I'm right behind you."

"Promise?"

"Yes. I promise."