The first thing I hear when I awake is footsteps. I hear them walking down my hallways. How dare they enter without my permission. I see their shadows. They cannot see me, but I see them coming closer and closer and closer until they stop. They enter the last room I saw [HIM]. There is an ache in my heart whenever I go near that room. The rusty cogs that hold me together tremble in their place. [HE] has been gone for too long. I miss the sound of [HIS] voice. I miss the way [HE] held me. I must stop thinking about [HIM] and [HIS] everything. I cannot stop.
Their faces are hidden from me. They have obscured themselves beneath their helmets, but I do not need to see them. Their scents are so different, it is not hard to distinguish them. The one that glows exits the room first without the smaller one. I hear the smaller one's voice, but never do I hear the one that glows. Can they not speak? Are they like me? [HE] told me that I didn’t need a voice, but [HE] lied to me. The scientists didn’t want me talking to [HIM], so they took it away.
The smaller one exits the room next, joining the one that glows. A piece of paper is clutched in the smaller one's hand. I remember that paper. [HE] and the scientists used to write about me on them. I never found out what they said. [HE] never taught me what the symbols meant. Now, I do not feel the need to learn. Words and voices have one use, and that use is meaningless to me. I am alone.
I am alone, and I am hungry. Their scents are so different, but they both smell so good. My stomach aches from its emptiness. I watch as they walk back down the halls, oblivious to me following them. Maybe not. The smaller one is running, and that alights something within me. I want to chase them. No, I need to chase them. The one that glows starts running too. Perfect, they will fill me up. [HE] never let me get hungry. But [HE] is gone, so I feel starvation carve out a place in my life. I am always on the brink of being gone too.
I run behind my meal, making sure to keep distance between us. However, it was too much. I see them disappear up the stairs and into the arms of [MWIZI]. Slinking back into the darkness of the city, I plan what to do next. [MWIZI] cannot protect them forever. Even I know that [MWIZI's] gaze is cyclical. When [MWIZI] falls, I will hunt.
The steady clicking of my heartbeat echoes through the halls. The creaking of my inner workings punctures the monotone beat, filling the air with stilted screams. [HE] would be proud of how far I have come. I am exactly what [HE] wanted me to be. I am perfect.
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