2

Chapter 2

Andrés awoke to silence. He raised himself slightly but immediately regretted doing so when he felt pain shoot through his head. After taking a few deep breaths, he managed to calm himself down enough to realize where he was and why he was there.

"Where am I?" He asked softly.

He listened closely to see if he could hear anything coming from his surroundings, but all he could hear were muffled sounds from outside. He stood up and slowly began to walk over to the window, hoping to get a better view. When he finally reached the window he pushed it open, careful not to make too much noise and attract anyone's attention. Once outside he leaned forward to try to make out what he was seeing.

All he could see from where he was was a cityscape filled with bright lights. There was nothing in that direction that told him what city he was in, except that everything appeared to have been built by hand rather than made by robots. What kind of world was this? He thought.

Then he caught movement in the corner of his eye. Someone walking towards the house seemed to be coming his way. Careful to keep low and to avoid being seen, he hid behind some bushes.

Soon the person came into view. She stopped in front of the door, knocked twice, and opened the door while pushing it with her foot. She walked straight inside and placed whatever it was she was carrying on the kitchen table. Then she turned around and went to stand in the middle of the living room. Her brown hair was tied up in a tight bun, making it almost impossible for him to see her expression.

She stood motionless for a moment, seemingly waiting for someone to speak. Nothing happened. She cleared her throat and finally spoke.

"Andrés," she said. The sound of his name coming from her mouth sent shivers down his spine.

"Gabriel said you were unconscious when he brought you home yesterday and since you haven't woken up yet he called me to check on you." He heard her moving closer to him. "So I'm here."

Finally he had to face her again. She looked older than him in every possible way possible, with wrinkles running through her face, bags under her eyes, thinning hair, and sunken cheeks. Her hazel eyes, once bright and full of life, now held little light, as if they were only reflecting the dimmer lighting of the living room. Her voice had the slightest hint of raspiness and sounded as if she hadn't talked properly in years. Yet somehow, despite all that, her gaze was still unwavering. Not a single tear ran down her face, although her lip trembled ever so slightly.

Slowly, and with every step he took, Andrés moved away from Michael, afraid that if he stayed, he'd end up falling apart completely. Andrés didn't want her to know that he could barely control himself and was practically shaking with fear. That scared him more than anything. He could feel himself losing control and quickly backed up against the wall, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.

"Don't run away from me." She said, sounding more desperate than angry or disappointed.

"Leave me alone." Andrés whispered hoarsely, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"No," Gabriela replied firmly.

Andrés didn't dare to look at her face, afraid that she would see the terror written across his own. Slowly, as if he were fighting every impulse in his body to run, Andrés inched towards the front door, hoping that somehow his legs wouldn't fail him and he fell on the ground, which he assumed would hurt a lot more than it was hurting at the moment.

"You can't leave yet. It's too dangerous," She paused, obviously gathering her thoughts together. "There has to be a way for us to communicate safely with each other. If not then I won't be able to talk to you anymore, and there'