Her hips swayed like an enchanted snake as she walked down the lonely streets of Los Angeles. To the stranger's eyes, her poised composure can easily be mistaken for confidence, but there were tufts of fear growing inside of her. The area was awfully quiet and it terrified her greatly. It felt like the years were rolling back as she walked past the familiar neighborhoods that she has not seen in three years. And although the new structure has changed the look of the district, the kiss of the past still lingered between its buildings.
Fatigue eventually conquered her knees and she decided to rest in the bower of a garden inside a secluded estate in Long Beach. She placed her bag and her smart gun next to her before leaning against a tree-bole to enjoy the breezy air. She almost surrendered to the urge to remove her silver masquerade mask, but protecting her identity was far more important than scratching the itchy area around her eyes caused by the material of the mask.
Unfortunately, her short peaceful moment was interrupted by a brute.
"Get up and put your hands on your head." The husky voice commanded as he held the gun behind her back, causing her legs to tense.
"I am glad that amidst the war between humans and Automatons, a police officer is wasting his time with an innocent human girl." She sarcastically commented.
"I am not an officer and I am giving you ten seconds to get up." Yoel replied, dryly.
Nerezza quickly reached for her smart gun and turned around, pointing it at him.
"I do not take orders from anybo—" words froze in her throat when she looked at his face.
The sun behind him shined brightly making it look like it was an angel standing before her. The sunshine oddly matched the hazel rays in his eyes. His dark eyebrows, knitted together with thick hair sat arrogantly above his eyes like kings. His high cheekbones gave her a threatening glare, but his lips screamed of seduction.
Before logic could stop her, Nerezza took his face in both her hands and kissed him. Her lips were like two scorpion tails; poisonous and deadly, saving their sting for the dense hearts. But his heart was not dense for it was already captured by the love of another one.
When the distance between them became eradicated, and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck like a python, she felt like she was carried by two angels on a palanquin as their kiss deepened. Almost immediately and with one swift push, Yoel broke her unwanted kiss and pushed her.
"What the hell is wrong with you, woman?"
"I am not here to do any harm. I am just a lonely traveler who was looking for a shade to nap in before I continue my long journey." She smiled.
"This is a private property. Find another place to nap and get out of my estate." He put his gun in his belt before walking back to the mansion.
She started clapping, "bravo! What a gentleman, leaving a weak woman alone in the streets for the robots to kill."
"Leaving a crazy woman who kisses strangers," he corrected, "you have a gun, use it."
She followed him as he walked away, "one smart gun is nothing compared to a building protected by an AA sound system."
He suddenly stopped in his tracks, "how do you know that we have installed an Anti-Automaton sound system?"
"My dad was an Automaton engineer, I can tell from the neon blue cords around the bricks that it's the AA sound system."
"Why are you wearing that stupid mask?" He stretched out his hand to remove it, but she slapped his hand away.
"Do not touch me." She growled.
"So it's okay for you kiss me, but I am not allowed to touch you?" He raised one eyebrow at her.
"I did it in hopes of seducing you to let me stay until I recover." She lowered her head, and her eyes in shame.
"Recover?! Recover from what?"
She turned around and removed her dirty white tank top to reveal the fresh wounds on her back below her bra bands.
"An Automaton attacked you?" His fingers brushed over her wounds and she flinched.
"Automatons," she put her tank top back on and turned to face him, "there were five of them, I managed to kill them all but I ended up with these wounds."
He sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingers, "My father is going to kill me, but sure you can stay with us until your wounds are healed and then you will go your way."
"Thank you!" She jumped up and embraced him.
"While we are at it, let's set up some rules. Rule number one, never touch me unless you wish to face my girlfriend's wrath."
The mention of him being in a relationship made disappointment knock on her ribs and her heart beat with unbearable sadness.
"No problem," she smiled, "go ahead." She extended her arm out gesturing that he leads the way.
He glared at her and used his key card to open the door. She followed close behind him into the large foyer. The door closed heavily behind him and she heard the automatic lock closes. He headed for the kitchen while she waited by the main door. She studied the hallway, her eyes taking in each detail. As she explored the area, she smelled breakfast being cooked. It was strawberry muffins! Her favorite thing to eat for breakfast.
"Are you hungry?" Yoel came back to the foyer, "my girlfriend is cooking breakfast."
"Is she baking strawberry muffins?" Her stomach rumbled with hunger and she drooled with desire.
"Yes, come on in. I'll introduce you."
She nodded and went to the kitchen with him. He pressed on the fingerprint scanner of the cabinet to get a bottle of wine. He then clicked on the chair option on the dinning table and one of the chairs pulled away for him to sit. Meanwhile, his girlfriend was busy reading the recipe on the stove display screen as she was baking the muffins. She had her hair up in a bun and a bonnet on her head, and wore an apron over her white nightgown. She sprinkled the top of the muffins with cinnamon before turning around to greet Nerezza.
"Welcome to our estate, my name is Éloa." She extended her hand politely to shake hers.
"An angel was born on earth at the time when the Mediator was saving its inhabitants. Jesus had left the walls of Bethany with his little-known following, banished like himself." Nerezza recited the Éloa, ou La sœur des anges poem.
Éloa tilted her head sideways in confusion. "Yes, I was named after the angel of sorrow."
"And created after me." Nerezza removed her mask, "I am Professor Schreiber's daughter."
Yoel dropped the bottle of wine that he was pouring for them, spilling it all over the kitchen floor. And in the crimson reflection of the alcohol, Éloa's human look-alike stared back at her. The only difference between them was that Nerezza's hair was shorter with bold brown curls, with eyes blue like the fabric of the sky.
She wore a golden snake upper arm cuff, and silver head chain with pearl studs the shape of flowers. She had on a pair of army shorts, and a medieval looking thigh scabbard attached to a holster. She also wore a faded, dirty tank top, and black bandanna wrapped around her neck with the letters FA written in white font on it.
"Did you not tell me that you were created in memory of his late daughter?" Yoel looked at Éloa.
"He faked my death and sent me to the Middle East in order to protect me from the government." Nerezza explained.
"Why did you come back? Why wait until the country is more divided than ever to show up?" Yoel questioned her motives.
"I have my own reasons." Her face took on a pained expression.
"And we are to believe that those reasons coincidentally led you to Éloa?" He got up from the chair and towered threateningly above her.
"I think it's what we call fate." She faked a smile in an attempt to conceal her dubiety of the situation.
"I think not," he grabbed her by the throat and held her up, "who sent you to harm her?" He applied more pressure to her throat, enough to restrict but not cut off air flow.
"No-obody!" Her voice cracked, choking out the words. "I am on the Automatons' side not the humans!"
"Why should we believe a stranger?" His voice was a snarl filled with rage and doubts as he demanded.
Nerezza's answer was a strong kick at his gut that lands him on the ground.
"I do not owe you, or any other bastard any explanation." Although her voice was out of breath and tremulous, she still somehow sounded fierce. "Look at my bandanna," she pointed at her neck, "FA stands for the For Automatons party. If I wanted to harm your beloved robot I'd easily shut her system down. After all, I am the daughter of the best Automaton engineer who has lived." She reminded them.