Silence. It hung in the air, dirty and suffocating and cold.

The days after the war left many places, once bustling with life and laughter, empty and barren. The sole inhabitant of the bar on the corner of Fifth and Main was a deathly silence. At least from the outside it would appear that was the only resident of the otherwise desolate building. But Ari knew better than to trust appearances alone.

Ari was sixteen years old. The war had started when she was just a child. She was 5’4”, a stocky build, with midnight black hair chopped haphazardly by a pair of scissors. She was young, but she was fierce, and had been alone for quite some time.

As she entered the abandoned bar, Ari unsheathed a rifle from the satchel slung over her shoulder. She also took out a scanner device, clicking the hook onto her ear and turning the gadget on with a press of a button. It whirred almost silently in her ear as she wandered further into the deserted bar. Stepping over the shattered glass that was scattered across the floor, she maneuvered through the destroyed furniture of the establishment and into the hall.

The device attached to her ear beeped softly, indicating the scan it had done was finished. She whipped her head around to check for anything it may have spotted, but it was clear. There were no further signs of life in the building. Ari let out a sigh of relief, allowing her guard to drop partially.

Swinging into what she assumed to be an empty room, she looked for any sign of useful supplies. It was difficult to find anything worth taking nowadays. The buildings left unpillaged by soldiers or civilians were either too dilapidated to risk venturing into, too difficult to access, or just not interesting enough to bother rummaging around. Much to her surprise, Ari had managed to score a few pieces of cybertech from these otherwise neglected buildings. She was expecting to get a similar piece of loot here.

She was not, however, expecting to find an entire android. And especially not one that looked inches away from death.

Across the room, sat up in the far right corner, was an android. Not one of the weird skinless husks she saw wandering the town around dusk, either. A real, functioning android– or at least one clinging desperately to the last of its energy. He appeared to be around Ari’s age, and likely stood a little taller than her, if she had to guess. Blood was smeared across his face, his nose broken and eye bruised. She would’ve assumed he was human, if not for the bright blue blood screaming otherwise.

Maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was fear, but either way Ari pivoted her body, ready to shoot. The stock of her rifle went into her shoulder and she stared down the sights, the front sight lining up with the android’s left eye.

Immediately, the android lifted his hands above his head, eyes widening in fear. “Hey!” he exclaimed, panic striking deep into his core. “Easy, easy! Put the gun down!” The android’s hand was coated in bright blue blood, likely from an injury he had been holding.

Ari glared down at the android in front of her, nose scrunched up in agitation. “Give me one good reason not to blow your head off your shoulders,” she growled, “and I’ll consider it.” She readjusted her gun, but moved her eye off the sights, scanning the android with the device attached to her ear.

Slowly, the android turned, picking up a tattered jacket that was on the floor next to him. “My name is Cas,” he said, voice slow and wary, “and I was part of the resistance. I left. I don’t want any trouble, alright?” He looked up at Ari, and she did not look impressed. He sighed, then opted to continue speaking with the time she had allowed.

“I’m injured. I need a place to stay so I can heal.” He frowned. “The resistance wants me dead, and the government wants me dismantled.” The jacket he was holding was a dark blue, almost black color, with a bright blue hexagon on the pec. It had a model number on the sleeve, and then the name “Cas” below the hexagon.

Slowly, Ari lowered her gun, and Cas breathed a sigh of relief. He opened his mouth to thank her, but she shut him up with a glare. “I’m being real nice right now,” she said, letting the rifle slip back into her satchel. “Consider this your lucky day, Cas.”

The android nodded hastily and attempted to get up, which Ari stopped by pushing a hand onto his shoulder. “Stay,” she ordered, and Cas’s HUD lit up, the order keeping him rooted in place. Ari turned and left the room, but returned a moment later, a large toolbox in her hand. She walked up to Cas, kneeling down and popping it open.

“So, Cas,” she started, the tension in her shoulders relaxing a bit, “what model are you?” The android adjusted his position against the wall as he answered. Ari nodded knowingly, pulling a handmade shiv out of the box. Cas lurched backwards, LED eyes flashing red in fear.

“Oh, calm down,” she said as she turned to face him, moving his hand away from his chest. “I just gotta get to your internal paneling.” She cut open the already damaged shirt Cas had been wearing, then pressed the shiv into his chest panel, popping it off effortlessly. It stung a bit, but the pain wasn’t too bad.

“You’re lucky I know how to do this crap,” Ari muttered. Cas nodded in agreement. He was very lucky. As she reached into his chest cavity to inspect the damage to his internal components, Cas spoke up.

“You don’t have to do this, you know.”

Ari looked up at him. “Maybe say that before I’m elbow-deep in your ribcage?” she huffed, annoyed. She pulled a bullet out of the processor in his chest, then set it aside and closed his chest panel. “I’m pretty sure that was the only thing in there,” she said as she popped it back in place. “Better safe than sorry, though.” She turned to her satchel and pulled a first-aid kit out of it.

Ari grabbed a roll of ace bandages, scooting back some as she wrapped Cas’s external wounds. Once he was patched up, she let out a short sigh. He did too, relieved that the frenzied panic his systems were in had now stabilized.

“So,” Ari said, crossing her legs and looking up slightly at the android in front of her. “You said you’re, what? Being hunted or some crap?”

Cas nodded. “Not really hunted, but yes.” He sighed and fidgeted with the jacket now on his lap. It seemed like a sore subject.

“I left the resistance and now they want me dead. The government wants me dismantled and examined because I left the resistance. It’s a lose-lose situation, I think.” He looked down, and Ari nodded.

“So you’re… just on the run now? Hiding out ‘til they find you?”

Cas frowned. “I’m hoping they don’t find me.”

Ari shook her head. “It’s inevitable at this point.”

Unfortunately, she was right. It was hard enough hiding from the Lawless, and keeping a low profile so you don’t get robbed of materials or food. It’d be even harder to hide from the resistance or the government, both of which probably have the tracking code for any android on either side. Let alone both at the same time.

But that didn’t mean it was impossible.

Cas paused, considering something for a while. “What if we stuck together?” he suggested offhandedly. “You know how to repair me if I break, and I can take a bullet or two for you if you need it. We could be a team. Or… something like that.”

Ari hummed. “Hm. Yeah, maybe. Having an android around to help me out would be pretty sick.” It would certainly make scouting easier, and would provide an extra layer of cover if a fight between Ari and the Lawless broke out.

A smile crossed Ari’s face. Yeah. A team sounded nice. She stood up, offering a hand out to Cas to pull him up off the ground. He accepted, and she hauled him up. Reaching into her satchel, she handed Cas a handgun. Admittedly, not the smartest idea, but it was as close to the metaphorical olive branch that Ari was gonna get.

Outside, Ari could see a group of the Lawless breaking into a barbers shop down the road. She took her rifle out, cocking it before looking up at Cas with a grin.

“Let’s go kick some Lawless ass.”