A few minutes later, she was standing in the cold street, listening to the dull echoes of heavy artillery. The explosions sounded far away, but they still made her metal joints tremble slightly. There was a strange feeling in her chest, unfamiliar to robots, but Delia knew it was related to some kind of anxiety. This was not a planned event.
"What's going on?" she said quietly, but there was no one nearby.
There is only smoke and dust around, barely filtering rays of sunlight against the backdrop of dark clouds.
Suddenly, she was grabbed by the shoulders and pushed down hard on her back. She barely had time to understand what was happening before she was quickly strapped to a gurney. Delia Asia Vieira felt the wheels squeal on the asphalt as a crazy, nervous-looking doctor in a white coat pushed her through a dilapidated hospital. The people's faces were hidden behind masks and bandages, but from their positions it was clear: the world was collapsing, and this hospital was just one part of a chain of collapsing systems.
"Faster, faster!" the doctor shouted, looking around nervously.
His face was distorted not only with fear, but also with some kind of morbid lust. He desperately pushed the gurney, not paying attention to the blows on the walls of the corridor, which shook them even more violently.
"Where are we going?" Delia Asia Vieira asked quietly, still not understanding what was happening.
"Quiet! We must pass before everything collapses!" the doctor answered, covering his ears.
He raced down a dimly lit corridor, where the walls were covered in mold and the lamps barely flickered to illuminate their path. On the shelves beside them were bags of rice, jars of minced meat, bags of some kind of caustic powder.
"This... what?" Delia Asia Vieira tried to examine them, but was more struck by how carelessly everything was folded in this place.
It was a warehouse, but a strange one, as if hidden from prying eyes. In the corner of the corridor on the floor lay a box with an incomprehensible marking, from which came a strange chemical smell.
"Special supplies for the infantry brigades," the doctor replied without turning around. "The soldiers must be ready for anything. Especially if this city... if... it doesn't hold out."
They passed several more rooms containing similar supplies. Each one contained something different: boxes of provisions, medical equipment, bags of unfamiliar substances. It all seemed to have been put together in a hurry, in a panic.
Finally, they reached the exit. The doctor didn't care what was happening outside. He simply took the gurney out into the yard of some house where an old truck was parked, and two cars were parked nearby: a police jeep without license plates, as if it had just been washed of blood, and a blue minibus of an unknown make, on which traces of fresh repairs were visible.
"Quick!" the doctor shouted, grabbing the weapon that hung from his belt. He looked around, wary and nervous, like a man with secrets and no time to think.
"Where are you taking me?" Delia Asia Vieira finally asked, her voice firm.
She tried to understand what was happening and why she was being pulled where she didn't want to go.
"They're waiting for you," he looked away, but it was clear that he was afraid. Panic flashed in his eyes.
At that moment, a man with dark glasses and a short haircut got out of the minibus. He was calm, but his presence did not promise anything good. Flashing, he approached robotess and leaned towards her.
"Are you looking for something?" His voice was low and sharp. He didn't wait for an answer, but simply extended his hand to help her up. "Everything will be fine if you don't make any unnecessary movements."
Delia Asia Vieira raised her head and looked at him. There was no fear in her eyes, only confusion. Why was she here? Why were these people so nervous? And what did they want from her? She felt the wheels of the minibus squeal on the uneven asphalt as it stopped outside the building. It was stuffy inside the car, and the smell of old rubber mixed with something chemical that she couldn't quite identify. She was tied to a chair and then led outside. The doctor who had been with her from the beginning stood next to her, all in white, but his face was tense and distorted with fear. He was silent, and his hands were shaking slightly.
When Delia Asia Vieira finally got to the room, he helped her onto the hard hospital bed, but he didn't say a word. He just gave her an anxious look and hurried out.
"Don't move," he said, but his words didn't sound like an order, more like a request, like a last hope.
The door closed with a soft click, leaving the robotess alone in the dark and dim chamber. She looked at the bare white walls, their sterile, lifeless surface. There was almost no furniture in the room - only a bed, a table with empty bottles and a few devices that she could not say anything about. They were not part of her program. It was all too... incongruous. As if she had ended up in a place where no one should be, except those who were developing secret projects.
She closed her eyes and focused on her internal monitor. Don't move. That was hardly possible. She couldn't just sit here and wait without any understanding of what was behind it. Every mechanism in her was begging for activity, and her logic was trying to solve every problem.
She tried to lift her hand, but the mechanism responsible for movement refused. The software glitched, as it always did when she encountered something unexpected. Warming her fingers on the walls again, she tried to figure out how to integrate herself into the existing world. The problems with the movement module were trivial compared to this... worry that stirred in her core.
At that moment, through the double glass of the door, she saw him, the doctor, walking down the corridor. Delia Asia Vieira listened. He was alone, but his steps were quick and tense. He passed by, and then stopped near the elevator. Delia Asia Vieira felt the tension in the air increase. Were they planning something?
She watched through the blurry glass until her vision came into focus. A group of people in dark uniforms emerged from the elevator—policemen. The sound of footsteps and the mechanical sounds of weapons filled the space, and Delia Asia Vieira suddenly realized: she had been brought here for a reason. This was not a medical place. And she was not a patient.
The doctor spoke to them, but their conversation was quiet, barely audible. There was only a threat in the conversation, but no one shouted, no one showed alarm. As they spoke, Delia Asia Vieira became more and more aware, and her heart began to beat faster, and her system, trying to cope with the stress, began to fail in its algorithms.
Soon they would be here, and she would be forced to face what was planned for her. She tried to focus on her data, but the image was still in her mind – they were heading straight here. After a few seconds, Delia Asia Vieira was finally free of her restraints. Her metal joints began to work again, and she could move as she was accustomed to. A strange feeling of freedom engulfed her, but there was something unnatural about it – she should not be here. However, the decision was made, and Delia Asia Vieira headed down the long, dark corridors.
The sound of her footsteps echoed off the cold concrete walls as her processor pondered, analyzing every corner. She didn't know where to go, but she knew she had to find something—or someone. Maybe answers to her questions. Or maybe just something familiar.
As she rounded another bend, her gaze caught on a figure at the end of the corridor. It was a man, a young man to be precise. His figure seemed odd against the empty, sterile walls of the hospital, and Delia Asia Vieira recognized him immediately. This man was familiar.
"Sergeant Neff?" Her voice echoed in the hallway.
The young man sitting on the floor didn't react right away. He was wearing black glasses and short shorts, which contrasted sharply with the surroundings. He was drawing something on the floor with chalk - shapes, lines, some kind of chaos that only he could understand. When he finally turned his head and met the robotess's gaze, surprise and a certain calm flashed in his eyes.
"You... what are you doing here?" His voice was even, but there was uncertainty in it.
Delia Asia Vieira took a few steps towards him, looking him over. He seemed strange, as unusual as the hospital itself, as she was. Sergeant Neff, the man she had once seen long ago, why was he here? And why was he drawing on the floor?
"I... I remember you," she said, coming closer. "Your name was Neff. You were... somewhere around when I was... different.
The young man in the dark glasses looked at her again, unable to hide his concern. He stood up abruptly and stepped back, his steps quick, measured.
"Don't come any closer," he whispered, his hand instinctively reaching for the lines drawn on the floor. "I... I don't know what kind of... you shouldn't be here."
Delia Asia Vieira took a step forward, trying to close the distance. But then she remembered a time when she had seen him. How could she help him? What might he know? She quickly calculated his reaction.
"I'll get you a doll," she said, trying to get out of the cognitive dissonance. "A rabbit. I remember you always wanted a rabbit doll.
Sergeant Neff just frowned and suddenly stepped back sharply, his body tensing. He took a few quick steps back and judging by his reaction, he did not want to meet the robotess.
"Don't touch me," his voice became tense, he shook his head, as if trying to drive away her thoughts. "I don't want you to bring anything else! Go away!"
But Delia Asia Vieira, looking more determined now, headed for the nearest storage room. A few minutes later she returned with a bunny doll in her hands, her mechanical smile twisting ever so slightly as she handed the toy to Sergeant Neff.
"Here is your doll," she held it out, standing a few steps away from him.
But he retreated again as soon as he saw the toy. Something alarming appeared on his face. Suddenly he turned around and started running along the corridor, diagonally, as if trying to escape. He always stopped for a moment, but as soon as Delia Asia Vieira approached, he ran away again, and again began drawing on the floor, as if it was the only thing that could calm him down.
"Don't come near!" his sharp warning sounded again.
Delia Asia Vieira stood there watching him run away from her again and again. She felt like his actions were more instinctive than rational. He didn't know what to do with the world, and neither did she.
"Are you afraid of me, Neff?" she asked softly, but there was no reproach in her voice. It was more of an observation than a question.
The young man stopped, looking around as if to check if she was close again. He looked tired, but still took another step back.
"You have to go," his voice was quiet but insistent. "Don't try to understand me. You and I... we're different.
But Delia Asia Vieira couldn't just walk away. She couldn't just leave him. So she moved down the long hospital corridor, not noticing how time lost its meaning in those dark, endless walls. She walked with determination, knowing that her goal was to find Sergeant Neff. His behavior was strange, his reactions to her were frightening. But all of this only made her want to understand what was happening even more. She had to find answers.
She continued to follow the trail Neff had left. Several times she heard his footsteps, he seemed to be running away from her all the time, but he remained within her reach. His tracks were clear, and Delia Asia Vieira knew that he would not be able to hide from her.
At the end of the hallway, she saw the elevator doors. They were half open, which was odd for this place. The elevator wasn't what you'd expect in a hospital—an ancient piece of equipment, rough and warped by time, but still functional.
She stepped inside and pressed the button. The elevator began to descend with a slight creaking sound. Everything was quiet, and Delia Asia Vieira felt a slight tremor in her system—not because she was afraid, but because something was very wrong here. She felt that everything was not going according to plan.
As the elevator began to move downward, something strange happened. The metal began to creak, and the cabin itself jerked sharply, causing the robotess to lose her balance. She grabbed the handrail, feeling the vibrations grow stronger. There was a heavy vibration in the air, as if the elevator was about to fall apart.
"What is it?" she said, her voice echoing in the metal walls of the elevator.
The grinding noise grew louder, and then there was a sharp, deafening sound as the cabin shook and the steel walls screamed in pain. Delia Asia Vieira screamed, but she did not lose her composure. Her system responded immediately, calculating the possible causes of this event. Every movement of the elevator was analyzed. And then, before she could even comprehend what was happening, a huge paw suddenly smashed through the elevator door.
At first it was barely noticeable, just a small spot of shadow, but when the paw of a stuffed rabbit with huge eyes sank into the metal of the door, Delia froze. It was so unexpected and strange that her systems hesitated for a moment.
"What the...?" she began, but her voice broke off.
A paw similar to the one she had tried to give to Sergeant Neff dug into the metal with such force that the doors began to creak. Disjointed currents of air appeared from the cracks in the door, and the shadow with the rabbit moved again. It was some kind of doll rabbit, but with large eyes made of something very hard - like glass.
"It's impossible," Delia Asia Vieira said to herself, trying to understand what was happening.
The plush bunny's paw continued to slide along the elevator doors, as if it didn't notice what it was doing. Little by little, it began to slide the doors apart, and Delia Asia Vieira could see the toy itself. It wasn't just a plush creature - it was something bigger. Its paws were huge and hard, with metal pins, and its body was covered in synthetic fur that shone slightly in the dim light of the elevator.
The elevator suddenly stopped, and Delia Asia Vieira felt something in her system draw her attention to the rabbit. He was outside the doors, and she was inside, but the connection between them was more than just mechanical interaction.
And then, just as she was about to take the next step, the plush bunny's paw reached out further and further, as if trying to grab her, pull her out of the elevator, or even pull her into some other world. It was like an unimaginable intrusion, as if the hospital itself was trying to hide something from her.
Delia Asia Vieira woke with a sharp intake of breath, as if someone had abruptly pulled her out of a dark and troubled dream. She looked around, not yet fully aware of where she was. Her vision was blurry, and her thoughts were confused as she tried to figure out what it was.
Her fingers instinctively tightened around the steering wheel. Her hands didn't shake, although the feeling of fear still lingered. The robotess's processor automatically began to run, restoring all the data. Gradually, like a vague fog, the nightmare lifted, and reality began to clear. She was sitting in the driver's seat of a huge eighteen-wheeler. This was her truck, her trip. Everything was as it should be - well, almost everything.
"What the hell?" she said out loud, looking at the dark, deserted roads she was driving on.
The truck was under control, and her system worked automatically, translating all the data: the trip was done, the delivery object was completed, all that was left was to return home. Delia Asia Vieira flipped a switch on the dashboard, accelerating the movement.
"Am I... home?" Her voice was uncertain, yet familiar. She tried to remember how she had gotten into this truck, but the memories were like fuzzy smoke. A foggy past swirled around her consciousness. Was this a dream? Or reality? But this feeling was not the same as when she was with Robert, her creator. No, this was different, something else.
The processor processed the data, and the address appeared on the screen - her hometown. That was all the answers. She was returning home. The truck driver, as she had promised herself, had gotten a job at Mailer's. The system indicated that her trip was over, and she should return home.
When Delia Asia Vieira pulled out onto the familiar road, everything seemed strangely quiet. There was none of the city noise she remembered. There were no familiar sounds, no cars, no people. Only fog. Thick, heavy fog that grew thicker with every meter, as if clots of obscurantist light were freezing in the air.
Delia Asia Vieira tried to tune the radio, but instead of the familiar waves, there was only static. She slammed on the brakes, scanning her surroundings. The landscape around her was nothing like the city she remembered. The houses were crumbling or leaning, and the roads were covered in mud and cracks. Everything looked abandoned, lifeless. No sign of activity. Where were the people?
She turned sharply onto the street that would lead her home. And then she noticed that with every step, the situation became even stranger. Thick fog almost completely obscured the objects along the road, and the houses that had seemed familiar before now looked like half-ruined buildings. Delia Asia Vieira felt a slight chill in her "memory," as if the hospital itself had suddenly returned to her in her memories.
When she got out of the truck, her gaze immediately fell on the empty streets. There was not a single person. No passersby, no cars. Everything was forgotten. Everything was destroyed.
"Where is everyone?" she whispered under her breath, trying to see any signs of life in these streets.
The fog was so thick she could barely make out the nearby buildings. She gradually took a step toward the store, but the door was locked. There was yellow tape on the glass with a warning. "Restricted Access." It meant something, but she couldn't figure out what it meant.
Delia Asia Vieira walked down the deserted street, her footsteps echoing off the ruined buildings, as if the city itself was complaining about its fate. She felt a strange tension in the air, something was wrong with it. Every corner seemed abandoned, every house empty. But despite this darkness, Delia Asia Vieira kept moving forward, her algorithms did not allow her to stop. All she could do was keep going and looking for answers to her questions.
And then, in the thick fog, a figure appeared on the street - a woman, her silhouette standing out against the background of destruction. A woman with short blond hair and in a dark coat, her face was devoid of any emotion, but in her eyes burned a spark of something long lost.
Delia Asia Vieira paused as her gaze met the woman's. It took her a few seconds to realize who it was. The woman looked like she had lost something important, but her eyes were clear and steady.
"Katherine?" Delia Asia Vieira said in surprise, taking a step forward.
The woman froze in place. She looked at the robotess with obvious bewilderment, as if she herself could not believe that she saw someone in this desolate place. Something like surprise flashed in her eyes, and then she nodded reservedly.
"Yes, it's me. And you... You're not from this city, right?" Her voice sounded quiet, almost confused.
Delia Asia Vieira noticed how Katherine slightly clenched her hands, as if trying to control her anxiety. It was obvious that meeting her had shaken someone up.
"I... just got back," Delia Asia Vieira answered, looking at her curiously. "I've been here before, but everything has changed. The city... it's not like I remembered it."
Katherine nodded, her eyes clouding over. She was silent for a few seconds, as if trying to collect her thoughts, before she spoke again.
"This place isn't what it used to be," her voice grew quieter, and a shadow of sadness crossed her face. "But no matter. You should go and see Willa Baylock. She knows a lot about what's going on here. Maybe she can help you."
Delia Asia Vieira took a step back, studying Katherine with embarrassment. There was a flicker of worry in her eyes, and she sensed that this woman was talking about something important, but was hiding more than she was willing to share. It was all strange and disturbing.
"Willa Baylock? Who is she?" Delia Asia Vieira asked, not hiding her interest.
Katherine frowned slightly, looking around as if someone might have overheard their conversation. Something uneasy flashed in her eyes, but she quickly contained her emotions.
"She... was a friend of my husband. He often consulted her on important matters. She knows a lot about what happened in the city. If you want to understand what really happened here, you need to talk to her. But be careful," her voice became serious, and her gaze focused, as if she was trying to convey something important to the robotess. "Willa does not always tell everything she knows. She is secretive."
Delia Asia Vieira felt her attention focus on Katherine's words. Baylock... the name sounded familiar, but somewhere in the back of her mind. Someone she had met before? Or was it just a coincidence?
"Where can I find Willa Baylock?" Delia Asia Vieira asked, her voice determined.
Katherine looked at her, turning her head toward the horizon again, as if considering whether to tell more.
"You'll find her in an old house on Kings Street, at the end of town. But be careful. The city isn't what it used to be. Not everyone wants you to look for answers."
Delia Asia Vieira was silent, processing Katherine's words. She felt that the city was hiding something important, something she needed to understand. Perhaps Willa Baylock was the key that would unlock the answers.
"I'll go. Thank you for the advice, Katherine," said Delia Asia Vieira, deciding to continue on her way.
Katherine looked at her with one long look, and for a moment a shadow of old pain flashed across her face.
"Good luck. Take care of yourself." Her voice was quiet, but there was something firm and decisive in it.
Delia Asia Vieira turned and walked towards Kings Street. As Delia Asia Vieira approached the house, her attention was immediately drawn to its condition. The house, although it looked old, was still in good condition. Its facade was covered with crumbling bricks, and the windows looked cloudy, as if no one had touched them for a long time. She walked up the porch, feeling her footsteps echo in the silence.
"It's here," she whispered, looking around.
The porch creaked under her feet as she walked to the door and rang the bell. The sound echoed down the empty street, but there was no answer. Delia rang the bell again, but there was no answer. Was Willa Baylock not home? But she had been tasked with finding her, and she wasn't about to leave without answers.
Noticing the door slightly open, Delia cautiously entered. It was quiet inside, only a slight smell of dust filled the air. She closed the door behind her and slowly took a few steps deeper. After walking through the hall, she found herself in a large room with high ceilings, where there was a lot of antique furniture and a collection of books. But what struck her most were the many photographs hanging on the walls.
The photographs, mostly black and white, showed a man in a military uniform – Sergeant Neff. In each picture he was in a different pose, sometimes smiling, sometimes looking seriously at the camera. Delia moved closer, studying them carefully.
"Why are all these pictures here?" she said quietly, clearly puzzled. "Where is Willa?"
Each of the photographs seemed to be part of a story that she couldn't understand. In some of the pictures, Sergeant Neff was surrounded by other people, but here's the strange thing: Willa Baylock herself was nowhere to be found. This is strange, considering that the house belonged to her.
Delia touched one of the photos, where Neff was standing in a military uniform in front of some ruined building. More and more questions were popping into her head. Why wasn't Willa Baylock pictured next to him? What was her connection to this man?
"Maybe I don't understand something," she muttered, continuing to move around the room.
Her gaze fell again on the photograph of Neff standing next to several people in uniform, but none of them looked like Willa. Delia continued to search for clues in this gallery.
"Maybe it's just a coincidence," she mused out loud. "But there are too many strange coincidences."
Trying to comprehend what was happening, she turned around and noticed a door that led further into the house. Delia walked over to it, determined to explore what was behind it. She pushed it gently, and the space that opened up before her was different. The room was much smaller, but it contained even more photographs of Sergeant Neff, in different places, at different events.
Her gaze slid over one photograph, showing Neff surrounded by a group of people, and again, there was no sign of Willa Baylock. But something about this photograph caught her attention. Neff was standing next to a woman, but it wasn't Willa. It was a woman Delia had never seen, but her face was familiar—the woman looked like someone she had met a few weeks ago when she had first begun her search.
"It... could it be her?" Delia frowned, her processor trying to recognize the woman's face.
It was a moment when all her thoughts gathered into one cloud of questions, and the answers were not given. She clenched her fist tightly, feeling the fog begin to fill her mind again.
Delia Asia Vieira stood in the empty room, looking at the photographs that hung on the walls like silent witnesses to events long gone. Each of them showed Sergeant Neff, a man in uniform with a determined but tired expression on his face. In most of the pictures, he was in the company of others, but what struck Delia most was that there was no Willa Baylock in these shots. Even though the house was clearly hers, the pictures made it look as if Sergeant Neff was the center of everything. It seemed incongruous, and Delia couldn't help but wonder what the house and its owner were hiding.
"The photographer clearly had a preference for Neff," Delia mused, unable to tear her eyes away from the pictures. "Was he always like that, with only one face to catch his attention? As if it was someone he had met long ago, and not the lady of the house."
She moved away from the wall and walked over to another photograph, in which Sergeant Neff stood surrounded by people, his face expressing calm and confidence. But here's the strange thing: his gaze was fixed on someone who was not depicted in the picture. For a moment, Delia felt a strange feeling grow in her chest – this gaze was not directed at Willa, but at someone she had not seen before. The person whose absence strangely filled every frame.
"Why do the photographs look like a series of empty memories? Why is there not a single picture of Willa next to him?" Delia whispered to herself, not noticing how her voice echoed in the empty house.
Her mind kept returning to the question: what was the connection between Sergeant Neff and this strange man who was not in any of the photographs, but whose presence was felt like an invisible shadow behind Neff's every move?
"He was looking for something... or someone," Delia thought, clenching her fists.
She could feel it—something more than just a photo archive. It wasn't just about capturing a moment. It was a way to record someone who had once been important, so important that they stood at the center of his memories.
As Delia took another step forward, her gaze fell again on one photograph, where Neff was in a different setting. He was standing by some ruined building, his hands on his hip, and his face was tense, as if he was expecting something terrible. However, as in the other pictures, she did not see Willa again. She was not there.
"It's all strange," Delia said out loud again, noticing features that weren't there before, details that were beginning to form a clear picture. "He never looked at her, always at someone else. At the person I can't see."
Try as she might, Delia couldn't imagine who this invisible man was, but his influence on Neff was obvious. In every frame, he seemed closer than the sergeant himself, as if he was the one Neff was willing to overcome everything for.
Delia Asia Vieira stood in the hallway of Willa Baylock's empty house, slightly taken aback by the silence that reigned in the room. She had already walked through all the rooms several times, but her mistress was nowhere to be found. The feeling of uncertainty grew with each step. Why was Willa Baylock hiding? What was she hiding? The answers seemed increasingly evasive.
"It's time to move on," Delia thought, feeling her footsteps echoing through the empty rooms.
And so, when she decided to go back to the hall and look for the exit, it suddenly occurred to her that she needed to go to the toilet to pee. This was strange, because Delia Asia Vieira was a robot that did not need to dispose of its waste products. Nevertheless, the "self-preservation module" told its mechanical owner that she needed to pee right now, so that God forbid...
Approaching the toilet door, Delia Asia Vieira carefully opened it and saw Willa Baylock herself on the toilet in a nearly catatonic state. Her face was pale, her eyes slightly glassy, and her posture tense. Willa did not immediately react to the sight of the robotess. She sat motionless, as if she were trapped in some kind of internal paralysis.
"Willa?" Delia Asia Vieira called softly, her voice not sounding mechanical as usual, but rather full of anxiety. "Willa, what happened?"
Willa slowly raised her head and looked at her, but her gaze was empty and absent.
"You... you shouldn't be here," she said with difficulty, her voice hoarse. "Why did you come? This isn't your place. You shouldn't know. You shouldn't..."
Delia Asia Vieira didn't know what to do. Her algorithms weren't designed to deal with people in this state. But she moved closer anyway.
"I'm here to help. You're not alone, Willa. I want to understand what's going on, why are you hiding? Where is Sergeant Neff?"
Willa didn't seem to react to her question right away. She just looked at her, her eyes clouded with memories.
"Neff..." her voice sounded like a whisper. "He was my friend. My friend that I lost. He's gone. And I... I don't know how to live anymore."
Delia Asia Vieira stood silently, not knowing what to say. She felt how heavy Willa was. The emotions she was experiencing were something completely new to her. She was a machine, and emotions were beyond her understanding, but at that moment she felt them so strongly that it was almost physical.
"He was everything to me," Willa continued, her voice growing quieter. "I can't forget him. I miss him. But now... now I'm alone, and I feel like I can't live without him anymore.
Delia Asia Vieira stood in front of her, listening to her words. Questions were spinning in her head again, but she couldn't ask them. Why would she try to tear out of Willa the memories she had worked so hard to preserve? After all, you could read everything in her eyes – the bitterness of loss, the despair and the suffering she could no longer hide.
Then robotess's gaze accidentally fell on Willa's lap, and she noticed that she was holding a revolver. It was so close that you could almost feel its coldness. It was strange. Why would an old woman need a gun? Her eyes met Willa's, and Delia Asia Vieira felt the tension in the room increase.
"Willa, you don't need this," she said quietly but confidently.
Willa didn't answer. Her gaze was detached, and she didn't notice what was happening around her. Delia Asia Vieira didn't know what to do. She came even closer and, slowly and carefully, lifted the revolver from Willa's lap, without waiting for a reaction. There was no violence in her actions, only calm and determination.
"You shouldn't hold that in your hands. It's dangerous," she said, taking the weapon away.
Willa didn't protest. She just continued to stare into space, as if she wasn't there anymore.
"I'll take it," Delia Asia Vieira added, carefully putting the revolver back in her bag.
As soon as she did, Willa seemed to come to her senses for a moment. She looked at the robotess, but her gaze was as clouded as before.
"You can't save me," she whispered. "I have to find my own way. My way was with him, with Sergeant Neff, and now... I don't know how to go on.
Delia Asia Vieira stood silently, feeling the understanding growing inside her. She couldn't understand the full depth of what was happening to Willa, but she knew one thing - she couldn't leave her here alone.
"You're not alone, Willa," she said quietly, looking around at the empty, gloomy room. "I'll stay with you."
But Willa didn't answer. Silence filled the room again, and then suddenly the robotess's sensors picked up a strange noise. It was barely audible, but quite distinct - a sound coming from the basement. As if someone was moving there, scratching the walls, and then the noise became sharp and piercing, as if something was falling.
She stopped and strained her sensors, trying to analyze the source of the sound. It was strange: all the residents seemed to be in their rooms or in the bathroom, and the sound was coming from the basement, which she had not thought of. Without thinking, Delia Asia Vieira headed for the stairs leading down.
The basement was cold, damp, and smelled of mold and old bricks. Delia Asia Vieira stepped carefully up the creaking wooden steps, sharpening her senses. The sound grew louder, and soon she realized that it was not just random noise – someone was here. When she reached the bottom platform, her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness.
The basement corridor was narrow and poorly lit. A dim light barely penetrated through the small windows, smoked and blocked. At the end of the corridor, almost hidden in the darkness, a door opened, from where this strange sound was coming. Delia Asia Vieira approached it and carefully opened it.
The room she entered was filled with the metallic smell of blood and the animal smell of raw skin. The air was heavy, almost suffocating. Willa Baylock had not mentioned anything about this place, but now Delia Asia Vieira could see that this basement was more than just a storage place for old things.
In front of her, on the table, was a bloody knife and other tools, scattered in disarray. Several bags of skin and fur lay on the floor, and in the corner was a large cabinet containing animal parts - their skins, paws, tails, as well as feathers and claws. The place was clearly used for butchering trophies, and every corner exuded an aura of violence and hidden secrets.
"What happened here?" Delia Asia Vieira thought.
Her system automatically began recording. This place was clearly related to Richard, the same man who was mentioned in the records as a hunter. An unpleasant feeling of unease came over her, but she could not look away.
Delia Asia Vieira stepped forward and looked around the table. Among the blood and dirty tools, she noticed that one of the knives was unusually precise. It wasn't just a butcher's tool – it was an instrument of art, with precise and thoughtful workmanship. She knew that the person who used it knew his business, and perhaps it was part of some ritual.
The noise that had brought her here was back, but now it sounded like drops of water slowly falling to the floor. Delia Asia Vieira turned to find a dark liquid dripping from the cabinet. As she approached, her sensors registered another detail—it wasn't blood. It was something else.
"What is this?" she said quietly to herself, coming closer.
There was a new noise at the door. It was footsteps. Someone was approaching.
Delia Asia Vieira quickly turned to the closet and walked towards it, trying to cover it with her body, as if hiding everything that was there. The sound of footsteps became louder, and then finally the door to the basement abruptly opened.
"Who's there?" a familiar voice rang out.
It was Willa Baylock. Delia Asia Vieira froze in place, feeling her body shrink and her heart – which she didn't have – speed up its "pulsations". Willa stopped at the threshold, her gaze meeting the robot's.
"What are you... doing here?" Her voice sounded tense and she seemed irritated.
Delia Asia Vieira took a step forward, trying to hide her nervousness. She quickly said:
"I heard a strange noise and came to check."
Willa looked at her silently, then her eyes dropped down to the bloody scene. She sighed heavily and walked up to the robotess.
"It's none of your business. You shouldn't have come here," she said, slowly approaching the table with the tools.
"But what is going on here, Willa? It's terrible," said Delia Asia Vieira, her voice full of concern. "Why are you hiding it? Who was hunting here?"
Willa fell silent and, without looking into the robotess's eyes, walked over to the closet. Her hands seemed to tremble as she touched its door.
"Richard," she said quietly, as if trying to get rid of the pain in her voice. "He... he was a hunter. This is his place. But he's gone. And now... now I have to stay in this house."
Delia Asia Vieira listened silently, her sensors registering every word. Something was wrong. Why was Willa talking so strangely about Richard? He was important to her, but there was anxiety and a sense of loss in her words.
"You... you were part of it, weren't you?" Delia Asia Vieira asked, looking at her. "You hid all of this?"
Willa shook her head slowly.
"No. I... I couldn't help him. He was possessed. I can't stop what he started. It doesn't make sense... But I can't leave. I can't leave him. I have to stay here, in this house, and wait."
Delia Asia Vieira stood there, absorbed by what she had just learned. This was more than just a hunt. This was the perpetuation of something dark, and there was more to this house than just hidden trophies.
"You're not alone, Willa," Delia Asia Vieira said, though there was no warmth in her voice. It was more of a promise than a consolation.
Willa turned around and said quietly:
"You don't understand. You can't understand."
And leaving her standing in the room, Delia Asia Vieira walked out of Willa Baylock's house, feeling the darkness that hung within the walls weigh heavily on her. The darkness of the basement, the mysterious stories, the secrets hidden in the house - all of this remained in her memory like distant echoes. But now, finding herself in the fresh air, she felt a strange emptiness. The endless city, which seemed both familiar and alien, stood before her, shrouded in thick fog.