Eve had lost herself in her thoughts again.
The sound of the nearby woods, the rustling leaves and chirping birds, faded into the background. Her vision blurred and her body relaxed. The old metal bench she sat on – uncomfortable, but serviceable – became just another perch. The one of dozens – perhaps hundreds – she had lost herself on.
In her head, she played back those final moments with her father. He treated her so well. She was rarely allowed to leave the house, but he assured her it was for her own safety. And for his. He made her delicious food, taught her many things about the outside world, and even brought home toys and games… even if she didn’t often interact with those.
Then men in armor stormed the house. They broke the door down, and destroyed whatever they could get their hands on. Equipment. Computers. Books. Everything related to her own existence. Her father told her to hide, but she couldn’t help herself. As the men approached him, she stood between them. Use myself as a shield, she thought. It doesn’t matter if something happens to me, so long as Father survives.
She remembered as the men drew their weapons and aimed at her. And then…
“Hey, miss?”
Eve returned her focus to the world around her. Her gaze drifted upward to spot a human in front of her. A man with tanned skin and dark hair, wearing tattered clothes and carrying a large bag on his back. He was leaned in, an expression on his face that Eve had a difficult time understanding.
“Are you okay?” he continued. “You shouldn’t be out here at night. Monsters roam around these parts, you know.”
Eve glanced around. Oh. It was night, now. The sun was up last she remembered… she must have been sitting here for a while. Indeed, the pleasant sounds of the wind and the birds had been replaced with insects and owls. The old train station she’d perched herself in lined with overgrowth and moss, windows shattered and graffiti on the walls. Night blooms were open now, flowers she hadn’t noticed when she first arrived here.
“Hello, sir,” she replied flatly as her gaze returned to meet his. “I am well. Thank you.”
“Eh?” The man stared in return for only a brief moment before he shook his head and averted his gaze. A reaction all too familiar, but one she didn’t understand. Why did humans refrain from looking at her? “Aw, geeze,” he muttered. “Okay, look, I’m heading home. Why don’t you come with me where it’s safer? I’ll introduce you to my friend. It’ll be better than out here, anyway.”
Eve was quiet for a moment. She felt compelled to agree, if for no other reason than it being something to do.
“Very well,” she spoke finally as she stood up. “Lead the way.”
“Just like that?” The man put his hands on his hips, quirking one eyebrow. “You’re a strange one. My name’s Devan. What’s yours?”
“Eve,” she answered, starting to follow him as he led her along, following the abandoned rail from the Old World, stepping over the wild growth.
“Well. Nice to meet you, Eve,” Devan flashed her a smile.
“Is it?” Eve inquired. “Why?”
“Uh.” Devan paused in his step briefly, before continuing along his well-practiced path. “W-well, I mean… why wouldn’t it be?”
Eve thought about that question for a moment. She didn’t know. All she knew was that humans didn’t typically react so… pleasantly to her presence. They usually scoffed. Or scowled. Or drew weapons.
“I don’t know,” she finally shrugged.
“Hm,” Devan grunted a little. “Well, either way, it’s nice to see a friendly face out here. Where were you headed?”
“I don’t know,” Eve repeated.
“You don’t–” Devan stopped and turned to face her, giving her that same expression she didn’t know what to make of. The one where his eyebrows scrunched together. “So you’re just out here wandering around??”
“Yes.”
Devan sighed, rubbing his forehead. How funny. Father used to do that sometimes. “Oh man.”
He said that sometimes, too.
“Okay, look, the place I stay at is just at the next station. We live in there. You can stay there for a bit while we … figure you out.”
“Very well,” Eve nodded.
From there, she followed him again without another word exchanged between them. The crunch of the gravel beneath her worn shoes, a chilled wind blowing past them occasionally. The path lit by moonlight and the Ley Line. The sights were all the same… just more broken buildings and plants she didn’t recognize. The sounds were more interesting. Chirping. Hooting. Even the quality of the sounds were different. Maybe she should travel at night more often.
“Here we go,” Devan finally spoke again, leading her up a stairway onto yet another train platform.
Eve looked around… the same as the last one. Just different shaped buildings in different places. Actually, she briefly wondered if she’d been here before. It was hard to tell. Though the building they were heading towards seemed different. It was a small shed or shack of some kind. And the plants had been cleared out from around its door.
“…? You live here? It’s small,” Eve commented.
“It — It goes underground,” Devan smiled patiently, his brows furrowing again as he unlocked the door with a small key. The door swung open, revealing an old, concrete stairway that went underground. “See? It’s quite roomy inside.”
“Oh.”
And down they went, the door closing and locking behind them, seemingly on its own. It was dim, but small lights were strung along the ceiling. When they reached the actual structure on the inside, the walls opened up into a spacious room with archways leading off into different sections. Devan put his hands to his mouth and called out:
“I’m home! And I found someone!”
A woman – not quite as pale as Eve, but with hair as dark as Devon’s – emerged from one of the archways, rubbing her hands together and smiling: “Great! Are they any good with magitech? The generator kicked up at me again today.”
“W-well, uh…” Devan stammered as he removed the pack from his back, setting it aside by the entryway. “You see, Erica, I’m, uh…”
“Wait. Wait, wait, wait.” The Erica gestured sternly to Devon to stop him, then approached Eve. She stared Eve in the face for a moment before pulling an expression she did recognize.
Disgust.
“Devon! What the– this isn’t a someone, this is a something!” Erica shouted, gesturing wildly at Eve while facing her companion.
“Wh-what are you–” Devon couldn’t finish.
“This is a Doll, man! We can’t bring this thing in here! What if it goes crazy!? Or steals your soul!? Get it out of here!”
Ah. Yes. This was more like it. She didn’t understand how people could tell that she was different from them. But it always seemed like one good look would set them off. Why? She didn’t know. She looked the same. She’d never hurt anyone. She wasn’t sure if she could even if she wanted to.
The other two began arguing. An argument she found utterly uninteresting, even though it involved her directly. And so, she…
Found herself zoning out once more. Waiting for this conflict to resolve itself.