Spider Path, Part 1/5

"You want something right, you gotta do it yourself." The words were no sooner out of his mouth when the shot hit him full force in the chest, slamming him against the wall.

The woman with him sighed in annoyance and returned weapon fire, aiming in the general vicinity of the burned out car. She hazard a glance behind her at the body slumped against the dirty bricks. "Get the hell up," she said calmly.

The man coughed a few times as he slowly sat up, then rolled over to his knees as his head leaned against the wall. "Uuhhhh," he groaned more in annoyance than in pain. "Mother fucker," he whispered as he got to his feet, and keeping low, went back to his previous position behind the cinder block divider.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," the woman said as she fired a few more random shots. Grabbing her duffel bag from the ground beside her, she scurried off to the left, and disappeared though a jagged hole in the brick wall.

She stuck her head out briefly. "And?" She waited until the man looked. "Move it." Pulling her head back in, she could hear the scuffling sounds as he quickly followed her through the hole. She waited for the sound of others to follow, ready to fire if the did, and breathed a sigh of relief when all remained silent.

The pair traveled quietly for about a half an hour, quickly weaving in and out of vacant building and burned out wrecks of vehicles. When they put as much distance between their previous location and themselves, they stopped for a brief rest.

The woman looked at the man. "Let me see where they hit you," she said as she put her bag down and approached.

"It's nothing," Andy replied. He gently grabbed her hand as she reached for his jacket to open it. "Portia…It's okay."

"Andy," she said calmly. "Let me see." She traded stares with him until he sighed and let go of her wrists. Opening his jacket, she grimaced at the hole in the middle of his chest, and bit her lip as she studied the charred fragments of artificial skin.

Although he was a state of the art, top of the line, fully functional bioengineered human android, he was not indestructible.

"Doesn't look too bad," she admitted.

"Told you," he said as he took a step back and fastened his jacket closed. "I've been healing as we've been running, and once we get back to the settlement, I'll do some maintenance."

Portia glanced at their surroundings; it didn't look good. They seemed to be in some sort of business district, with half crumbled facades on the buildings. It seemed to her that after the 'big one', this place had been deserted and forgotten. That suited her fine, since she wasn't looking forward to running into the inhabitants that seemed to want nothing more than kill her and take Andy's circuitry.

"Where are we, anyway?"

Andy stared at her for a moment, wondering why it even mattered. He was close to saying as much before he recalled that this woman was constantly curious about everything she saw. "According to the satellites, Youngstown, New York."

Portia sighed. "We're going to have to cross the Niagara River to get back home."

Andy nodded once, knowing that it would be useless to elaborate on how virtually impossible it would be to cross the river that linked the countries once known as The United States and Canada. The countries were still named as such, but, like everything else on this war-ruined planet, country names were irrelevant.

Portia slowly walked to what looked like a small coffeehouse, and peered inside. "Looks fairly safe." She tried the door, not surprised to find it unlocked. Most places had been ransacked in the weeks following the mass bombing of Earth by the Sintarie; forces of the once ally planet.

One hundred years of peace were broken in an instant when the Sintarie launched a completely unexpected attack on Earth, bringing the population to near annihilation in a matter of days. The new enemy had been methodical in their attacks, first taking out the military, and any defenses before hitting all major cities. Adding insult to injury, they had left all satellites untouched, which allowed people to communicate while being destroyed. More than half of the people who survived were either taken by force for unknown purposes, or left to fend for themselves on a now ruined planet.

Andy followed her into the small building, and quickly looked around, reaching out with internal sensors for any trouble. Satisfied that they were alone, he relaxed some and picked a quiet spot near a sheltered wall to do some self-maintenance.

Portia watched him with a slight smile, marveling at how someone who seemed so human could be so machine at the same time. Originally produced as a pleasure android, the ‘Randall’ line were the last put into service before the fall of humanity. Many had survived, and now mingled with their human counterparts. Some were welcome by others, while a lot had been destroyed in the past, cannibalized for their interior systems.

"Get some sleep," he said in a low, all too human voice. "It’ll be dark soon, and I don’t think we’ll be doing much sleeping." He seemed to fall asleep, but a small breathing sounds emitted from his chest, indicating the workings of interior systems.

Portia watched for a few minutes as he ran a self-fixing program, and crouched down so she could see the door, but anyone entering could not see her.

~~~~~~~~~~

His eyes opened slowly at a sound, and he stared into the fading daylight as he attempted to pinpoint to source. Glancing to where he knew Portia would be, and recognizing her stance as someone who was asleep, he continued his survey. The noise sounded again, a small scuffing, and his eyes immediately went to the windows at the front of the building.

Shadows passed by, and he grimaced in annoyance as they continued. Moving slowly, and ignoring the tightness in his nearly repaired wound, he crossed the small distance between himself and Portia. He gently placed a hand over her mouth, and put his hand up as her eyes popped open.

Portia's eyes flickered to the side as she heard the noise outside, and she stayed where she was as he removed his hand. By silent agreement, they remained quiet, and waited until the last of the noise faded away. She sat up slowly, leaned forward and placed her mouth next to his ear.

"Which way were they heading?" she whispered.

"Same way we're going," he whispered back. He pulled back slightly, suddenly uncomfortable. As a pleasure model, his main programming kicked in from time to time when he was that close to a woman. He smiled slightly, and leaned back a little further. "We might have to wait until morning."

"You're right." Portia knew exactly why he had moved away from her, and, although she loved the fact that he knew how to please her, she knew that now wasn't exactly the right time to indulge in certain activities.

She glanced at their surroundings again. "This place doesn't look like it's been used in ages. It might be safer to stay her tonight." She caught sight of a door in the shadows. "Wonder what's back there?"

Andy listened intently. "Can't hear anything...probably a storeroom."

"I wonder where those people were going?"

"We're not finding out," Andy replied in a voice that showed he was serious.

"Aren't you curious?"

"Not in the least." Andy got into a crouching position, and made his way slowly to the door Portia had noticed. He carefully turned the knob, and slightly pulled. The door opened about a foot, and stopped. He glanced in, his sight taking in everything at once, and, deciding there was nothing overly dangerous, motioned for her to join him.

Portia wiggled her body through the opening, and found herself in a small room. Boxes lay smashed on the floor, with contents strewn all over; some nibbled on by rodents. Something scurried past her foot, causing her to jump back.

Andy caught her before she could fall to the floor, and held on a few moments longer than necessary. "Sorry," he mumbled into her hair, and started to let go.

Suddenly feeling the need to be with someone, Portia turned around in his arms so she could look into his face. "It's okay," she whispered.

Andy knew the look on her face; it was why he had been created. Through the years, surviving had clawed it's way to the top of his 'to do list', but it could never take over as his primary function. His head dipped down and their lips met as he lifted her off the floor, her legs wrapping themselves around his waist.

~~~~~~~~~~

Portia woke to near darkness, her body telling her that it was sometime during the night, and that she had to use the bathroom. She untangled herself from Andy's arms and, hoping she didn't step on any rodent, worked her way to the small door at the back of the room that held a remarkably unbroken toilet. She doubted there was any water in the tank, and didn't want to flush to find out anyway.

Business done, she quietly walked back to her spot on the floor and cuddled up next to the man who had been her companion for the past six plus years. She had found him in the ruins of a factory, and had intended to use his circuits for parts until she accidentally switched his programming on. One look into his blue eyes, and she knew she couldn't 'kill' him.

His programming already finished, yet not implemented, he acknowledged her as his de facto owner, and as such, went with her everywhere. She had taken his official name, Randall 6900, shortened it to Andy, and ordered him not to tell anyone what he was. He agreed, not knowing why, though he quickly learned in a world he wasn't created for.

Meant to pleasure women several times a night, he had at first not understood where the world imprinted in his programming had gone. Sensing that Portia wasn't 'there' for sexual means, he had kept a respectable, if somewhat difficult distance during their first few years together.

Those times were spent trying to survive in a world that was deteriorating faster than one could keep track. Andy got crash courses in weapon control, and killing. At first, these actions went against his desires to provide pleasure, but he finally came to terms that keeping Portia alive created pleasure in her. It was a round about way of thinking, but one he clung to.

It wasn't until two years previous that their relationship had advanced. He was finally able to draw on his reason for being created, and bring a peace, albeit unsettling, to his programming. No one beyond her knew what he was, and all those who knew them assumed they were mates.

At times, Portia forgot that the being with her was not human. His programming had him act like a human, complete with moods and attitudes. It was times like when he was injured that she remembered what he was. She held no shame or embarrassment in having an intimate relationship with, what was technically a machine. Pleasure androids had been around for centuries, ever since someone took the classic 'BladeRunner' concept and elaborated on it.

Andy moved slightly in his ‘sleep mode’, and opened his eyes. He smiled at her in the half-light. "Morning…I assume."

"Close enough," she replied. "Want to get started?"

He gave her a brief hug, and then leaned back as she slowly stood. "If we can make it to the bridge undetected..." He trailed off. Various groups heavily guarded the bridges between the countries. Even though the countries no longer existed in theory, people were intent on guarding what was once theirs. Instead of pulling together after the bombardments from space, humans had drawn into their own areas, and set up camps.

"I can't remember who's got control over the Youngstown Bridge," Portia replied as she stretched. "Hopefully it'll be someone we can barter with."

Andy gave her one of the smiles that made her forget he was not human. "I can see it now. Excuse me, but we have nothing to trade, but we need across the bridge to go back to a country we should already be in, but we're not because we were dumb enough to volunteer to fly a defective aircraft." He sighed as he stood.

"Nothing more pathetic than a pouting android."

"Sure there is," he said, not the least bit insulted. "A know-it-all human is ten times worse."

"Keep it up, Randy Andy, and I'll reconsider taking you apart for circuits."

It had long been a private joke between them. "If you do that, who else are you going to find that can do this?" He gently grabbed her by the arm, swung her towards him and stared into her eyes. His mouth covered hers as he brought her back down to the floor with him.

~~~~~~~~~~

They stayed hidden as they stared at the bridge two old-city blocks away from them. People swarmed around the entrance to the bridge, and they could tell just by looking that they weren't the bartering type; unless it was bartering on how fast they would kill you.

Andy leaned back with a sigh. "Maybe they'll let you cross for me."

"Shut the fuck up." Portia glared at him. "I don't ever want to hear you offer yourself for me again."

"Portia," he said in a level voice. "When all is said and done, I'm a machine."

"You're Andy," she hissed back, "and if you keep it up, I'm going to yell, and then we'll be screwed."

Andy's jaw clenched slightly as they traded stares, then he went back to watching the bridge. "Think we can make it to the falls?"

"It's...what...about 20 kilometers away?" Portia considered it. "I don't think so...I'm not sure." She leaned back against the broken wall. "Remind me again why I volunteered to fly to the East Coast?"

Andy glanced at her, not sure if she was being facetious or forgetful. "Someone had to go barter for supplies," he said slowly, "and you know how to fly."

"Oh, yeah," she sighed.

"And you think androids pout," Andy said with a smirk. He put a hand up to stop any comeback, and pulled her further into the shadows.

People passed by, close enough to reach out and touch, but no one looked into the small alcove they were in. They waited until the area seemed clear, and moved to a seemingly safer spot closer to the bridge.

Portia kept a lookout while Andy studied the scene in front of him. He watched the people walking back and forth, and could see no spots for them to dash on to the bridge and make a run for the other side. He switched his gaze to the river below, and calculated the flow of the water. He turned to Portia.

"What if..." he trailed off, dismissing the idea.

"What if what?"

"We swim?"

"We drown, you ask?"

Andy shook his head. "The current is strong, but if we find someway to connect us together, I should be able to get us across before we hit the falls."

"Should?"

"Fairly certain."

She stared at him in exasperation.

"That's unless they shoot us first from the bridge."

"Ohhhh," she breathed sarcastically, "even better."

"Then all we have to do is make our way back from Niagara Falls to the settlement."

Portia sighed in defeat. It actually seemed like their only option, which made her feel worse than she already did. "Are you sure this will work?" she finally asked.

"No."

"Lovely."

~~~~~~~~~

They waited until after sunset before moving from their alcove, and it took them over an hour to make their way to the waterfront. They had been discovered once, but a punch to the head from a stronger than human android had prevented the alarm from being raised about them.

Andy never liked harming a human, but he understood the need for it at times. He would do anything to keep Portia from harm. He crouched behind an abandoned building near the river's edge, and patiently tied a length of rope from her duffel bag securely around the woman with him. He looped it around each of her legs, crossing in the middle, then did the same around her shoulders. Mimicking the same on himself, he gave her a brief smile, then before he was able to change his mind, grabbed her in an embrace and pitched them into the water.

They surfaced quickly, took a deep breath and went under again as the current carried them below the bridge. Needing air before they reached to other side, they surfaced to yells coming from the bridge, and Andy kicked with the current as the water around them erupted in weapons fire. He felt a stinging in his shoulder as he pulled Portia under again, and kicked with all his might.

Only when Portia exhaled under water did he pull her to the surface, inhaled himself so he would remain buoyant, and then pulled her under again. The current was stronger than he had anticipated, and he had to struggle to keep them both afloat as he worked his way to the opposite shore. Positive that they were now far enough away from the bridge, they surfaced, and both started to kick to the shore that seemed to never get close.

The moonlit shadows of ruined communities flowed by them on both sides as they kicked to safety, and Andy started to rethink the odds for success before they made it to the falls. Knowing that they had a safety limit before the rapids became too strong, he started to kick harder, gliding them on a parallel angle to the shore. The water was cold, and he could feel her shivering as he held her.

"Hang on, Portia," he said as he kicked harder. "It's not too far."

"To the shore, or to the falls?"

He smiled slightly and looked down at her as she held onto him. She tried to return his smile, but she was shivering too much. He returned his gaze to the slowly approaching dark shoreline, and put all his energy and attention into making it there. His hearing picked up a small rumble in the distance, which he assumed was the falls getting nearer. That added to his desire to make it to the shore, and he called on reserved strength to make it. He knew that he would have to recharge for at least a day for this, but he knew he wouldn't even have that day if he didn't try. He had to get Portia out of the water and to some sort of warmth.

Portia was silent as they slowly but steadily made their way to the shore. Her blank stare, and one syllable replies worried Andy as he struggled against the increasing current. The roaring in the distance grew louder with every passing second, and just when it seemed they would never reach the shore, Andy’s foot hit something solid.

He reached out with one arm in the darkness, his fingers brushing against some sort of rusted metal. He grabbed at it, not even caring if it was on land, or a wreck in the middle of the river. He looked as his eyes adjusted to the form, and realized that he was holding on to the side of some sort of dock.

"Portia?" he whispered. "Portia?"

Her gaze flicked to his face, and she stared at him in confusion. "Are we there yet?"

He lifted her out of the water and placed her on top of the dock before pulling himself out. He took a moment to access his internal GPS, and satisfied they were on the side of the river they wanted to be on, he untangled them from the rope, and hoisted her into his arms.

Andy headed for a small building on the corner of the docks, hoping that it was vacant, but ready to react if it wasn't. Luckily, the building was empty, although he had high doubts of it actually passing as a building. Three walls leaned precariously against each other, making a dangerous looking triangle. He opted against seeking shelter there, and instead placed Portia down on the dock behind some ruined cargo boxes.

Portia stared blankly as he quickly peeled her wet clothes from her body, then watched as he took his off. She tried to reach up and touch a tear on his shoulder, and frowned as she tried to remember where he had gotten it. Vague images of being shot at while in the water floated through her mind, but none seemed to make sense.

She was still shivering as Andy lay down beside her, and wrapped his arms around her body, giving her his warmth. His legs became entwined with hers and he slowly ran his hands up and down her back, rubbing away the cold. He accessed his internal temperature controls, bumping it up a few degrees; not enough to be too hot, but just enough to provide a nice warmth.

Portia closed her eyes as his warmth spread over her body, and wished that it would burn away the haziness in her brain. Her shivering slowed as his hands traversed her cold skin, bringing warmth to each part it touched. Soon, she was feeling better, but the cloudiness remained.

"Do you love me?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

Andy's hands stopped and he pulled back to look at her. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Portia." He stopped with a sigh and continued to massage warmth back into her body. "I'm a pleasure android...a machine. I'm programmed to bring pleasure to a woman, and to tell her I love her if that's what she requires." He sighed again. "But, it's not me that loves, it's a program."

She blinked at him. "Stop avoiding the question."

"I'll stay with you for as long as we're both alive, and I promise to pleasure you only," he said honestly.

"Love you, too," she whispered and closed her eyes as his hands continued to caress her body.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Portia woke slowly, her body aching and her mind feeling like she was stuck in a fog bank. She pulled her shirt closer to her to fend off the morning chill, and sat up as recent events flashed through her brain. She looked over at Andy as he lay resting beside her, his position indicative of him undergoing a full recharge. She smiled slightly when she noticed that he had only managed to pull his pants back on after redressing her before his system made him go into a rest mode.

She looked around the dock they were on, noticing nothing but barren land for as far as she could see. She tried to recall if she knew the area, and thought it might be the shore that was approximately twenty kilometers from her current settlement. She hoped she was right, since the inhabitants were on friendly terms with all the settlements along this stretch of river, and that would make it easier to get both of them back home.

Her body jerked as another memory surfaced from earlier, and she closed her eyes in embarrassment as she recalled asking Andy if he loved her. She knew what his answer was, even if she couldn't recall him saying it. Love was programmed into him if needed. She didn't want any part of a love that wasn't earned, and cursed herself for asking. She enjoyed the sex that he provided, and didn't hold any hopes beyond that.

"Mmmmmm."

She looked up at the slight moan that came from the body on the ground. "Andy?"

He rolled over slowly and looked at her. "You okay?"

She nodded and tried to smile at him. He looked like proverbial hell, and struggled to bring himself to a sitting position. "Andy?" she asked, suddenly worried. He had never looked this bad before, regardless of what they had gone through.

"I'm okay," he whispered. "Just need to fully recharge when we get back."

"Recharge now." She sat by him and tried to push him back to the dock.

"No." He took her hands away. "Once I get you back home, then I'll recharge." He slowly got to his feet. "Until then, I'll self heal as we walk."

"Andy."

He looked at her with a tired expression. "I'm not going to sit here and argue with you about this. You can either stay or follow, but I'm leaving." He turned, swayed as the scenery took time to catch up with his vision, and started to walk away.

Portia sighed at the sky and trotted to catch up with him. They walked silently for at least two hours before he tripped over his feet and landed on his knees. He quickly got to his feet and started to walk again. he stopped when he realized that he was alone.

"Don’t have time for this, Portia," he said without turning around.

"Don't care," she replied. "You need to rest."

"I'm fine."

"You're a stubborn jackass, that's what you are."

He sighed. "Then I'm a stubborn jackass." He continued walking.

She caught up to him. "Did you really say that?"

"Say what?"

"What you said on the docks." She stepped over a large stone. "About staying with me forever?"

"Yes." He stopped walking for a moment, checked his internal GPS, and changed direction slightly.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you say it?"

He ignored her question, instead concentrating on the path in front of him. "Ever wonder why the satellite were never destroyed?" he asked instead.

Portia blinked in surprise at the change of topic. "Who knows why anyone does anything?" she replied. "They had their reasons for trying to annihilate us, but leaving the satellites. Maybe they need them for something."

Andy nodded at her explanation, then grew silent again. He could feel himself getting stronger, but he was well away from acceptable levels. "We've got about another day's trek," he informed her. "Do you want to rest now, and walk at night, or keep going?"

"What I want," she said, "is for you to take some time to rest."

"Fine," he sighed.

"Just like that?" she said in amazement. "Why didn’t you stop earlier?"

He faced her and spoke in an honest voice. "Because Portia, sometimes I just love to piss you off."

~~~~~~~~

Night fell quickly, and the land cooled even quicker as they made their way across the barren ground. There was enough moonlight to see by, and they made good time as they traveled. They were both silent as the dark ground went by, and soon started to recognize certain landmarks in the distance. Portia hurried her pace when she saw the tall buildings that sat on the outskirts of the community.2

A soft late summer breeze blew around them, bringing a mixture of aromas from the lake, settlement, and...Andy stopped walking.4

"Do you smell smoke?"6

Portia inhaled the cool night air. "Nope."8

He shrugged slighty and continued walking.  The winds could carry scents for long distances, and the smoke he had noticed could have been from anywhere.

"What are you going to tell them?" Andy asked. "About what happened to the plane."

"The truth," she said. "Mechanical error caused it to crash.... A loose brain cell in the pilot’s head for volunteering to go."

Andy smiled slightly. "And if they ask if you want to try the trip again?"

"I’m not sure," she replied. "I’d hate to relive that again."

"I’d like to see the ocean," he said without looking at her.

"And screw our brains out on the beaches?"

"Now you’re talking my language." He looked at her briefly before returning his gaze back to the ground. "If you want to try again, I’ll gladly go with you."

"Thank you."

"But not for a week or so," he said. "I’m going to need some serious bed time after this."

"You can have all the time you need to rest."

"Who said anything about rest?" 10