Chapter 18

"You can just toss that stuff on the floor," said Sauce. He was sitting in the chair near the terminal again. "Um," he glanced at his friend.

"Sit down," said Zack confidently. He waved to the bed. "We're going to ask you some questions. Answer them truthfully." He nudged Sauce. "Okay."

Renee perched at the edge. Even with the odds- and they were more than bad, they were fucking appalling- she was going to go down fighting. She'd always go down fighting.

Even if 'fighting' meant obeying long enough to get away.

"Er. You said you had a name..." He waited expectantly; when she didn't answer, he turned to Zack, puzzlement plain.

The other boy rolled his eyes. "You didn't ask a direct question. She's splitting hairs. Or dumb. Do it like this:

"What's your name?"

"Renee," she replied immediately. Unintentionally.

"Okay," said Sauce. "Well, I'm Sawyer, and this is Zack. He, um, he calls me Sauce. It's kinda a joke ... um, you can call me either one you want."

She stared at him blankly. Why, she thought, would it matter?

"Yeah..." he continued awkwardly. He pushed his bangs out from his right eye. "Well, we were talking and, um, wondering, I guess-"

"Sauce, you're fucking terrible at this. Just chill out and let me talk." Zack cleared his throat and faced the girl. "First, where did you come from, Renee?"

Easy.

"Outside."

" ... before that."

"A factory."

"No, I mean," he took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "Who owned you, before Sauce found you in the woods?"

Damnit.

"Claude," she replied. "Claude Montague."

"Monty?" interjected Sawyer. Actual curiosity lit his face. "Why wasn't he listed in your scan? Did he, like, disown you?"

"No."

"Then why- why were you in standby?"

Renee shrugged. "I didn't have an owner, apparently."

"Why? What happened?"

Better to just say it. She met his eyes for one brief moment. "Claude died."

Sawyer exchanged a look with Zack - though a look of what, she couldn't have said.

"How?" asked Zack.

"... 'how' what?"

"How did he die?"

"Who?" she shot back.

"Montague," growled Zack. "Your last owner."

Renee nearly snorted. This was too easy. "What about him?"

He strode forward, face so red he seemed ready to explode.

And she couldn't help it.

She flinched.

Renee flinched away from the nauseatingly familiar form of an angry man coming at her. She hunched over, automatically protecting the soft spots, the places that would hurt the worst. She cursed herself for the fear, the show of weakness ... but after a few seconds passed, she began to believe nothing was going to happen.

Although Claude had always loved to surprise her at such times. After she had relaxed.

Nothing.

She risked a quick glimpse.

Sawyer was half out of his seat, reaching for his friend- but frozen in place. Watching her.

Zack was only a few feet back. He visibly focused on breathing- on calming down.

And that scared her more than the anger. Punishments that were thought out were always infinitely worse than acts committed in the heat of the moment.

Her frightened eyes met Sawyer's for an instant before she focused on the floor. Before a song started automatically in her head and everything became slightly more... remote.

"Zack," said Sawyer. He stood and grasped his friend's shoulder. "Dude. It's fine. If she doesn't want to tell us, fine, whatever. It's not that big of a deal."

Zack shoved his hand away. "She's hiding something-"

"So?" He glanced at the girl. "Look, we'll have plenty of time to ask her. But we can do it later. There's only-" he glanced at the wall, "-only forty minutes left 'til English. We need to go."

"I just-"

"I know. C'mon."

" ... okay," muttered Zack. He slowly turned. "Later, then."

"Yeah."

"I hate that class. Mellor's been on my case ever since the bird thing."

"Well," said Sawyer as they walked out. "It was pretty much the dumbest thing you've done, dude."

"I know, but he- oh." Renee tensed as he turned back from the door to look at her. "Don't, um, don't leave while we're gone. You can use the bathroom, but otherwise you have to stay in this room.

"And clean the place up before we get back. Make it-"

"Zack-"

"No, Sauce, shut up. She's a synthetic, made to follow orders. If she didn't have any she'd probably just sit there and collect dust."

Her skin flared at the casual dismissal, but she tried not to show it. If they wanted to underestimate her- fine.