The party noise fades behind me, neon light spills across the street, flickering over cracked pavement and puddles that shine like broken glass. He's standing there under a half-dead sign, coat heavy with water, hood low over his face. The red glow of his left eye cuts through the dark.
For a second, i thought he might be another drunk stranger. Then he speaks, voice steady but low, carrying something colder than the night itself.
"You shouldn't be out here this late,"
he says. His tone isn't scolding, just matter-of-fact, like he's reciting a truth no one bothers to listen to anymore.
"There's been trouble in the lower sectors. Android units gone rogue. They move at night, hitting human zones for revenge. The Noxterra police can't contain it anymore."
He studied me, the faint red in his eye flickering as if adjusting focus. It's not hard for him to tell what i am.
"You're human,"
he says quietly, like he's warning me, not accusing.
He hesitates then. I saw by the way his jaw tightens, the small flicker in his eye. He almost says something else, something heavier, but it dies in his throat. Whatever it was, he keeps it to himself.
The rain picks up again. He exhales, though it's not really breath.
"Do you need someone to walk you home?"
he asks finally, voice softer now, almost human despite everything. "
"