Born of Silicon

“Ow! Corax I, Ow! I wasn’t even thinking about anything that time!”

Corax sits on my shoulder and continually pulls my ear. Being stuck down here for so long hasn’t been easy, but it’s been doable with his help. 

Doable, but certainly not pleasant. 

Somehow he can know before I’m about to freak out and pull my ear to bring me back to reality. The longer I’m down here the more he has to do it. Memories of my birthdays keep-

“Ow! Fine! Can’t we just talk instead? That always helps a lot. Ow! You can just say no.” If only Kara had put a little less effort into m- “Ow! Ok, that one was helpful.”

I’m not great at recognizing Corax’s emotions, they show in his eyes with a subtlety that’s nearly impossible to figure out. Despite that, I’m pretty sure I can see just how smug he is right now.

“Wait. Is that sound real?” A quiet twinkling begins to come from the very top of the bus. It slowly grows louder, and the sounds of thunder begins to come through. “I think there’s a storm uncovering us!”

My mind screams at me to get out, to finally leave the dark prison I’m in. All I want is to be free again, to feel the warmth of the sun, a warm breeze, to feel anything. Corax pulls my hair to bring me back. My hands are only inches away from trying to open one of the windows.

“Wait.” Corax gives me one of his rare words.

“Sorry. I’m just excited.” I drop into one of the few still undamaged seats and pull my knees to my chest. “Too much of my life has been waiting in the dark. At least I have a little bit of light this time. And you.”

For now I guess.

“Hey Corax? What if biting my ear stops working?” The question consumes my mind.

He opens his beak in preparation of another bite.

“Don’t! This is serious. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

“Can’t.”

“I wish that was true. Vince, Ivy and Cassie were strong- Ow! I’m going to have to deal with this eventually, you can’t just do this forever.”

“Later.”

“Do you know how frustrating you are?”

Corax does not respond, instead he just stares at me. Of course he does. I guess he’s right though. This is a conversation that’s much more safely done in sunlight.

I guess there’s nothing to do but to wait and to try not to think of anything Corax thinks will be bad. I wonder how Lucas is doing. Are him and Silver going to come and end me soon?

If they don’t, someone is going to find out what I am, and anyone who knew of me is going to be killed. Of course they can’t let me live. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I’ve already shown I will to try and stay alive, even against my will.

I should stop thinking about that, I can feel myself about to go over an edge. I guess Corax’s ‘lessons’ are actually helping, and he looks like he knows that.

“Hey Corax, can you finally tell me how you know when I’m going down a bad path?”

Corax spends a minute to think before finally saying something.

“Feeling.” He says in his croaky voice. 

What does that even mean?

“That’s it? You can just feel when I’m getting close?”

Corax only gives a noncommittal shrug in response. As glad as I am that he’s here, he’s so frustrating a lot of the time. 

We sit in anxious silence as the storm grows louder around us. Or at least I’m anxious, I think Corax is pretty content to just sit here. I think he’s hiding from the people I saved him from, but I haven’t even tried talking to him about it. I’m not exactly in a position to judge him for his history.

The storm grows to a fever pitch, threatening to topple the bus. Corax is thankfully relentless in keeping me focused. Every time the roar begins to morph into words, Corax is already pulling on my ear. Luckily they are metal or he would have ripped them to shreds by now. 

After only a day of sitting like this it begins to sound like the storm is slowing outside.

“Battery.” Corax says, almost definitely just to stop me from running outside.

“Alright, roll over.” I’m sure he can hear the disappointment in my voice.

I pick him up and place him on my lap, with his stomach pointed up. I prepare to take off his chest piece, only to make a realization. The only wires I have available are the ones that are currently powering Lucas’ last gift. 

“Can we do this once the storm stops? The dark is really bad for me.”

Corax’s eyes dilate with pure anger before he closes them and relaxes for just a moment. He uses his wings to push himself to his feet and flies to his nest wordlessly.

“Sorry.” I say just loudly enough to be heard over the storm.

“Sorry.” Corax parrots back to me and tucks his head under his wing. I don’t think that was meant to be mocking, it sounded like something closer to shame.

I wish I knew more about Mind Rips. Sure I connected to the dog a lifetime ago, but I didn’t learn much about them. I still remember their pain, their fear, their anger. If Corax is dealing with those same emotions I’d say he’s doing pretty well, all things considered.

I can’t believe that was over forty years ago, I was only a few days old at that time. 

I can’t let myself think about that while Corax is sad, he can’t help me, and I have to keep my focus on him.

“Is it my turn to bite your ear?” I sit down next to him. He looks so small curled up in his nest. “Do you have enough battery to survive until the storm breaks?”

He reveals just enough of his head to show him nodding before returning under his wing. 

“Hopefully this storm ends soon.”

I gently place my hand on his body. He tenses as soon as I touch him, a small tremble shoots through his little body. Only an instant later, he relaxes. He withdraws his head from his wing and leans on my leg. 

We sit together in silence for an hour listening to the slowing of the storm and the bursts of thunder growing fainter. My focus is entirely on Corax, he’s in no position to take care of me now. It’s only fair that I’m here for him.

Finally the last grains of sand pelt against the bus. The storm is finally over.

“We made it.” As excited as I am, I can’t ignore the possibility that we’re still buried. I quickly unlatch the window. For the second time the sun signals the end of my prison. No time to celebrate though, I have to take care of Corax. “Let's get you charged.”

I strip Lucas’ light and flip Corax over. I do things as quickly as I can without damaging his delicate machinery. I think we’re both itching to get out into the sunlight, to use whatever time we have before another storm hits.

“While we’re out we’ll have to find some wire. I’m sorry you have to wait to get out there.”

“Fine.” Nearly every gear inside him has to whirl to life just for him to say a single word. I still can’t believe how intricate his insides are. I can think of a few people who would have loved to meet him.

Luckily it only takes 15 minutes before he speaks up again.

“Done.”

I carefully put him back together. He quickly climbs onto my shoulder and gently nudges me towards the door.

“I’m going!”

The door takes a bit of force to get it open. There’s still an inch or so of sand keeping it wedged shut. The instant there’s a gap large enough for Corax he jumps through, propelled by powerful wings.

“Back soon.” He says before shooting down the endless isles. So he can say two-word sentences. 

I wonder why he stays so close to the ground when he flies? I don’t think there’s any sort of mechanical issue restricting the height he can fly.

Finally I manage to push the door fully open. In front of me is the spot I laid Vince and Ivy to rest. I wonder if they’re still there, or if they’ve been exhumed by the storm. Their gravestone is nowhere to be seen anywhere at least. I kneel down where they hopefully still lie peacefully.

“Hey, I survived. I’m not sure if you’d be happy to hear that. Although I guess you wouldn't want your deaths to be for nothing.”

I sit in the fresh sand with my back against the bus.

“Do you remember that bird we heard on guard together? Turns out he’s just like me. He’s been helping a lot and I’m doing much better. Sorry I couldn’t have gotten a grip before, well, you know. Could the two of you tell Cassie I’m sorry? I’d tell her myself, but I’m not sure where Lucas buried her. Thanks again for everything you three did for me, and sorry I didn’t deserve it.”

I stand back up, the faintest hints of tears streaming down my face. There’s just not enough moisture in the air for a good cry. 

The sun is barely over the tips of the scrap mountains around me. It’s hotter than is comfortable, but I’d better get used to it.

I dig around in the sand hoping to find my guns, only to come up empty. I guess it was a long shot that they’d still be here. Hopefully I don’t have to defend myself anytime soon.

I spend a few minutes opening the rest of the windows in the bus. A lot of them have sand wedged in their hinges and require quite a lot of force to get open. Nothing that my body can’t provide though. Soon enough the bus is full of bright light and a gentle breeze drifting through. 

It’s finally setting in that this is my home for the next 20 years. I doubt there’s any plutonium lying around here. Even if there is, it’s impossible to refill my generator, it just doesn’t work like that. Even if there was an entire radioisotope generator in here, It’s not like Corax’s tiny battery will keep me functional while I try to replace my core. I guess even if it’s too weak to keep me alive, it’ll still charge Corax for a very long time. I’m going to make sure he lives on. No matter what.

I wonder if this is how Vince would have felt? Or maybe did feel. I wish I could ask.

I need to distract myself while I get the chance to.

Upon leaving the bus I busy myself by digging through piles of scrap. Most wires I find are so corroded and brittle they’re unusable. It doesn't take too long before finding something usable though. With this I can both charge Corax and keep the light running.

Thinking of light, I wonder how long Lucas’ last gift will last. LED lights can last upwards of two decades, but this one hasn’t exactly been in the best conditions its whole life. I’ll need to find a backup at some point, hopefully before this one dies.

Some alarms and maybe even traps would be good to set up. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but it’s a little too late to say I won’t. I need to set up warnings first though, so people don’t just accidentally walk into them. I guess it would make the most sense to work on those first.

Can most people read? Cassie certainly could, and I assume the others in Silver’s gang can as well. I’m not confident about the Followers of the Scorched Sun’s literacy rate though. Maybe a drawing of guns and spikes will keep them away? 

I grab a metal sheet, a bit of steel to scratch it with, and get to work. Unfortunately I have experience with this. I’ll need to remake Ivy and Vince’s headstone as well. I will not let them be forgotten.

It only takes about an hour to place warnings at every entrance in a hundred foot circle around the bus. I do leave one entrance unmarked, the one that leads to the house Lucas stopped at. He said he’d visit soon, and I don’t want to worry him with fake warnings.

This is officially our territory, our home. Hopefully we won’t have to fight for it.

Just as I’m admiring my handiwork, Corax comes flying as fast as his wings can carry him out of nowhere. He buzzes just above me and continues flying.

“Run!” He screams in a terrified voice. From the direction he came I can faintly hear the crunching of boots and the yelling of voices. I don’t hesitate to follow Corax.