Somehow, we end up behind La Brume, and right before my motorcycle, because the Android doesn’t have a proper way of getting places that isn’t on foot. I’m honestly confused as to how he’s managed so far by travelling such long distances without anything to rely on other than his legs, but I’m not going to question it right now, because that’s definitely not the biggest issue at stake.

I sneeze, and squint through the darkness. My vision is starting to spin, but I ignore it. It’s normal. I haven’t eaten in hours.

Gilbert eyes my bike that’s rested upward against a nearby wall, and hidden beneath a wall of old cardboard boxes. “Does it work?” he asks me.

“Huh?” I cringe. “Of course it does!” I motion at the damned thing. “What, you think we’d just leave something with that many parts together if it was barely usable?”

“But… it is not parked properly.”

Jesus Christ, where does this guy come from? Has he been living in a dumpster? “Yeah, no kidding, genius. If I leave it out in the open, someone’s bound to steal it.”

“Oh. I did not know this.” He presents me with a curt nod and grins again. “Thank you very much for the information, Sir, I will definitely be taking notes!”

“No, dude, there’s no need to…” He takes out a notepad and starts writing. “Okay,” I groan, “you know what, never mind, do whatever you want. Can you just—” I find myself sighing again. Does he have to be this infuriating? “Where do we need to go for your investigation? You said you needed help, didn’t you?”

“Ah.” He brings a fist to his chin. “You are truly willing to aid me in my mission?”

“For now… A-and as long as we get to find my friend, too.”

He nods. “Then, if you do not mind, could you, perhaps, bring me to my apartment? I am in need of spare batteries to keep my systems up and running. It will be a quick stop, and then, we will be on our way once more, I promise.”

“That’s…” I tug at my collar. This is like a bad fever dream. “Uh, sure.” As long as you don’t strangle me from behind… “I guess it won’t hurt.”

I reach around my shoulder and shrug off my backpack that I stuff into my bike’s trunk. As I slam its modest roof shut and give it a few short pats once it is closed, I think of Solenn, who’s probably still waiting for me to return to La Brume.

She probably won’t be happy to find that I took back my bike without telling her I’d be leaving, since she’ll panic and believe someone stole it, until the day I tell her it was me—but I don’t want to risk going back and potential face the guy who wanted to shoot my brains out. Her anger is better than being dead over intel I probably would’ve never gotten anyway.

“Here,” I motion for Gilbert to take a seat behind me. Strangely, there’s no resistance on his end, and he easily obeys. Huh… I think, as I raise a brow. He’s oddly docile.

A crow flies past us. Moonlight catches across its onyx feathers. I throw one leg across the motorcycle’s seat and huff. “If you do anything to hurt me during our ride, I swear I’m kicking you off,” I say.

“I will not,” the Android assures me.

“Whatever,” I mumble.

My vision turns into a blur again. I try to blink it away. God, I really need to eat. It’s not like I’ve never driven like this before, or taken some bigger risks out of necessity, but it sucks that I have to feel this way when getting behind a wheel. I guess it doesn’t really matter much though—since I’m the only one alive here, I won’t be putting another person in danger if I do happen to crash. The streets are mostly empty during these hours, and if they aren’t, it’ll likely be a good thing that whoever’ll be on the other end of an accident would die. Only people who like to make life difficult for us wander these shadows.

I hate lingering on the thought, yet, there’s no denying that sometimes, when light returns to these slums in the early morning hours, food and spare parts aren’t the only things that go missing. Like Fletcher. And Saki.

I gulp. I think of my old friend; it’s all the motivation I need to rev my bike’s engine. “Hold onto me,” I tell Gilbert; it is terrible when he does, and I hate every part of it—especially when his fingers come to rest against my abs. Even through my shirt, the cool feeling of his lifeless skin is one that makes me want to jolt away. To push him off.

But I don’t.

Instead, I take off. And I hope for the best.

No matter what it takes, I will find Fletcher.