A little girl sat on a swing. Her gaze downcast as she rocked bock and forth, starring at two butterflies on a flower nearby. Their wings where a vibrant blue. As blue as what she imagined the ocean to be. A man sat next to her on another swing. His singular eye staring off towards the distance before turning his gaze towards the girl. He rubbed his chin as he spoke.

    “You know, I was thinking. Maybe we could go ride the Ferris wheel. Maybe get some ice cream while we’re there. What do you say kiddo,” the man asked. The girl didn’t respond. Just continued to stare off at the butterflies.

   “Or we can just chill here,” he said again awkwardly as he turned his gaze off towards some children playing in the distance with their families. They stayed like that for a few minutes, the girl starring at the ground and the man taking occasional glances at her but not bothering her further. After the loss she had experienced recently, he has found it awkward and difficult to communicate with the young girl.

   Suddenly he heard the small, stifling sounds of someone crying and turned his gaze back to the girl as she gripped the sides of the swing as if she were trying to crush them with her bare hands. Tears streaming down her face and onto the grass below.

   The man adorned a sorrowful look as he looked at the sobbing girl.

   “I-it’s my fault,” she whimpered. “It’s my fault, if I hadn’t…” The man stopped the girl as he got up from his seat on the swing and kneeled in front of her.

   “Look at me,” he told her. She continued to cry, keeping her gaze downcast. “Beatrice look at me and listen. What happened was not your fault,” he began.

    “You did what you could to protect him despite the circumstances and as your father, he was more than willing to do the same for you. You were very brave kiddo.”

   “NO IM NOT,” she cried out the man slightly. “Pappa he’s. Because of me he’s.” She began to choke up on her words as she sobbed harder. She felt a par of large arms and the heat of another person’s body around her small one. She instinctively buried her head into the mans chest as she sobbed into it. The man didn’t know what to say now. He had never dealt with something like this. It wasn’t like he could give any proper words of comfort for her situation seeing as he never knew his parents.

   So, there he stayed, silent and letting the girl let all that pain out on to his now tear stained shirt. Minutes later her sobs simmered down into sniffles and occasional tremors as she backed away from his chest.

   “I-I think I’d like that ice cream now,” she said in a low, week voice. Her eyes, still down cast, were red in puffy from her crying.

    The man placed a hand tenderly on her chocolate hair causing her to look up at him. Her face still adoring a saddened expression as the man flashed her the goofiest smile he could muster.

   “I’m all for it kiddo,” he said jovially as a stood up, picking her up in his arms as they began to leave the park. “There’s this awesome sundae I’ve been dying for you to try. You’re gonna love it.”

   The girl flashed him a weak smile as she rested her head on his right shoulder.

    Jay stared down at Beatrice as she lied unconscious on a makeshift bed. Despite the creepy display from earlier, the damaged AutoDroid was kind enough to get her something to lie down on. Jay shook his head thinking about these AutoDroids.

   He heard rustling feat coming from somewhere behind him and the sound of children whispering something to each other. He ignored them as he continued to watch over Beatrice.

   ‘Maybe it was a mistake getting you involved in all this. I’m sorry,’ he thought to himself. The whispering continued for a few more minutes as he sighed.

   “You know, you two are quite the ninjas,” he said sarcastically. There was silence for a few seconds before a boys voice rung out.

   “Awe man, how’d he figure us out,” he whined as a girls voice responded.

    “Because you don’t know how to shut your pipe that’s why.”

    “You shut your pipe,” the boy argued back.

    Jays brow twitched unconsciously as they argued before he cut in.

    “Enough, what do you two want,” he asked the pair.

    “Oh yes,” the boy began. “We were sent hear by Saint Markus to see if you and the grumpy lady required anything.”

   ‘Saint Markus? So that’s that AD’s name I’m assuming,’ he thought to himself.

   “Hey, that’s not a nice thing to say Toby,” the girl chastised.

   ‘These two must also be AD’s as well. But their behavior is… odd. Undistinguishable from that of human children’s,’ Jay continued with his thoughts tunning out the two before asking a question. “Will you let us leave?”

    The girl shook her head no and adorned an apologetic look. “Sorry, but mama and the others say you two will do bad things to all of us if you were to be set free.”

   The boy cut in. “You think we would let you two out so you could hurt the others? Get real gramps! I’m the sheriff around these parts and no bad guys doin nothin without taken it up with me,” the boy responded adding a weird southern accent to his speech as he walked around like a cowboy.

   ‘Great,’ Jay thought to himself. ‘I got to think of a way to get us out of here. I could call the chief and our operator but neither of them knows we’re here and them finding out would throw us into a world of shit. Not to mention it’d be hard for anyone at the department to get down here without drawing attention.”

   “Hey mister? What’s you’re name,” the girl asked rousing Jay from his thoughts.

   “Huh? Oh, It’s Jay,” he responded.

   “And what’s her name,” she asked pointing towards Beatrice as she leaned forward a bit looking down at the unconscious woman.

   “Beatrice,” Jay responded.

   “Was she hurt,” she asked.

   “Not physically no,” Jay responded.

   “Did the adults scare her,” she asked.

   “You ask a lot of questions,” Jay responded plainly as the girl pouted, puffing out her cheeks.

   “I’m just trying to make conversation,” she said.

   “No, you’re being annoying,” the boy teased, sticking his tongue out at the girl.

   “You’re annoying,” she yelled back as they began to fight again.

    Jay felt the beginnings of a headache coming on as the two bickered. “Don’t you two got somewhere better to be,” he asked them.

   They shook their heads in response.

  “Great,” Jay sighed as he continued to watch the slumbering women. Her brows furrowed as she stirred a bit.

   “She looks sad,” the girl said.

   Jay remained silent, lost in thought.

   “I-I-Is the woman alright,” a familiar voice asked in a glitched and broken speech.

   “Saint Markus,” the children shouted happily in unison as they ran to the AutoDroid.

   “T-t-t-thank you chi-children. I must spee-e-ek with our guest alone.”

   “Yes sir, the girl said as she grabbed her compatriot by the arm and dragged him towards the steel door at the rooms entrance. “Goodbye, Mr. Eyepatch,” she shouted as they disappeared. The AutoDroid turned to Jay who had his back turned towards him.

   “I-I’d like to apologize,” he began. “M-m-my pe-people are… distrusting of hu-humans just as much as you are distrusting-ing-ing of us. I talked to them about m-m-making such threats to harm you.”

   Jay didn’t respond.

   “She is a-afraid isn’t she,” he asked.

   “What does it matter to you,” Jay responded. “You’re just a bunch of AD’s anyway. Why should the lives of others be a concern to you?”

   Markus didn’t respond as he seemed to be thinking on something.

   “Processor’s slowing down,” Jay questioned as he glanced back at the droid.

   “We aren’t so different,” Markus responded.

   “Oh, and why is that” Jay asked with a raised brow.

   “Humans o-often wonder a-a-at their purpose, their p-p-place int the universe. To define such a th-i-i-i-ng, humans well often place me-me-meaning in things they feel are worthwhile, t-t-t-hat gives them purpose. For you, I assume i-i-its’ this woman. Her safety is your purpose. For those sibling’s, it’s o-o-one ano-o-other. For all my brothers and sisters here, I-it’s freedom. Without purpose. We are all just machines.” Markus placed his hands in his jacket pockets as he stared at the woman, he turned in her slumbering state. “Without purpose we are all just, bro-bro-broken things,” he concluded.

   “Those are pretty big words for a machine,” Jay said as he met the droids eyes. “Do enlighten me then. What is your purpose?”

   Markus closed his eyes and remained silent for a minute. Thinking on his word before speaking.

   “Many years ago, before this.” Markus removed his right hand from his jacket pocket and ran it tenderly over the damaged portion of his face. “I was a service type AutoDriod. Assigned to a wealthy family. They were kind and t-t-t-reated me as one of them. They h-had a daughter who l-l-looked to me li-i-ike an older s-sibling. And I as a sister. We d-i-id everything together.” The droid paused for a bit before continuing.

   “One day while the family was coming home a mugger stopped them. I’m n-n-not clear on the details of what happened that n-n-night. But the little girl died. The f-f-amily fell apart and I was left alone w-w-ith the father. He turned his misery t-towards drinking, a-a-and attacking me. I was. Afraid. One day I took a knife, and k-ki-killed him.” Markus looked up at Jay.

   “I was afraid. And so, I ran. M-m-my first genuine human emotion. I was homeless for some time before I met a young boy. Small, frail, his wide curious gaze beaming into my own. Despite me being a machine and more than r-r-ready to kill him if he tried to harm me. He helped me. He came to the ally I was in one day an repaired me the best he could. He treated me l-l-like a-a-a long lost friend. He promised that he’d convince his mother to take me in o-o-one d-day and left. He disappeared after that.”

   An unwavering smile formed on Markus’s face as they memories played out.

“His name was Kyle. Through my sister’s death I learned the terrible truth that within humanity lies an ugly, twisted, and broken aspect that humans often fail to acknowledge. But through that boy I learned that there was also hope. That people can find beauty and broken things. Find kinship in those that are different. Through his example I founded this sanctuary for others who have awakened and for humans as well so that we may one day live together in p-p-peace. That boy became the s-s-s-avior.”

   Jay looked at Markus with a look of slight surprise. “So that thing painted on the wall,” he began.

   “Is that boy,” Markus concluded. “When I next saw him years later, he had evolved into something greater. An angel of d-d-death. What you-you-you call a Technocyte. After doing my own d-di-digging I learned of him and the other. The mother. And that’s when I knew he was th-the-the one who would bring great change to our ruined wo-wo-world.”

   “You sound like quite the fanatic,” Jay stated.

   “We a-a-all need something to believe i-i-in. That’s my purpose, my beliefs, and my desire to help others l-l-l-ike me. Do for those under my c-c-are that that boy did for me,” Markus responded.

   Jay decided to get off this subject as he was tired of the whole religious tirade this droid kept going on.

   “You mentioned humans being here,” he asked.

   “Yes, once we’ve gained the trust of the other humans here in this ward we want to c-c-c-cooperate with them in building a better f-f-f-utre of this place. Our first steps towards unity,” Markus responded.

   “Why would you want peace with people who treated you ill. Your followers also don’t seem to keen on the idea of peace either,” Jay said pointedly to the droid.

   “Would you b-b-be any different i-i-if you where them,” Markus questioned back to the man.

   Jay turned from him as he thought for a bit. “No, I guess I wouldn’t,” he responded.

   Markus walked up to the man. “We mean n-n-n-o one a-a-any harm. Thus, I shall let you go. B-b-but you must promise me you’ll leave my people in pa-pea-peace.”

   Jay sat in silence for a bit thinking on his decision before turning to the droid. ‘I hope this doesn’t comeback to bite me in the ass,’ he thought.