Code: 213

Red

The android stares at me in silence. It feels like a lifetime before it says anything. "Would you like me to help you clean that?" It says while motioning to my hand. I look down and see that the blood has pooled onto the cutting board. "Oh- uh no I'm fine, thank you though". There's a long pause before Nila replies. "Okay". And with that it walks back into the living room.

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It's been a few hours since the odd interaction between Nila and me, but I decide to brush it off. But I can't seem to get those piercing, red eyes out of my head. I walk downstairs to put the dishes from my dinner away, and meet Nila at the kitchen island. It's eyes had turned blue again. Without speaking, I put my dishes in the sink and turn to walk back to my room. "Would you like me to clean those?" I pause for a split second before answering. "Sure, thanks" I reply before heading back to my room.

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6:30 am

Ugh. I hate mornings. I roll out of bed and head to my bathroom. I never liked my job but I need to keep it throughout college. The best part of my day is probably my coworker Keira. We're not exactly friends but it's better talking to her than no one. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I head to the bathroom to shower.

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7:30 am

I sit comfortably near the back of the bus. Usually I take the Light-rail to work but it's closed if with caution tape for some reason. I walk into my office building to meet Keira at our shared desk. The office is oddly quite today but I decide to pay no mind to it. I travel down the olive green corridor to mine and Keira's office. "Hello" Keira says. "Hey" I respond. "Someone seems tired..." she states. "Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night" I say to her. I sit down on my side of the desk and pull out my paperwork. "Hey Keira, can you hand me a pencil?" I ask. Keira let's out a sigh. "Sure" she says as she rolls her eyes. *She seems like she's in a bad mood* I think to myself. Before I'm able to start any work, the tv in the corner of the room shoots on.

TV:
The autopsy has concluded that the victim, Mary Lewendowski, was killed by blunt force trauma to the back of the head.

The screen then shows the Light-rail sectioned of with caution tape.

TV:
The Issaquah Police Department are investigating this incident as a possible homicide by an Artificial Interactive Companion.

Keira turns to me with wide eyes. "Did you hear that?!" She exclaims. "An AIC killed someone?" I question more to myself than Keira. Before either of us are able to answer my question the phone in our office rings. "Hello this is Dr. Rogers, everyone in the office will be excused from work today due to the alleged homicide that took place on the Light-rail. Due to the Light-rails close proximity to our office, the mayor has requested everyone in the Issaquah area to return home".

Keira and I make our way out of the office. We decide to stop by a coffee place to grab a smoothie. Just as we turn to walk inside, a flash of white catches my eye. "You see that?" I ask Keira. " Yeah... it looked like an android". Keira slowly walks towards the alleyway the flash of white went down. "What are you doing?!" I whisper-shout at her. "Investigating!" She whisper-shouts back. I don't want to be alone in an alleyway with a killer robot on the loose so I give in and follow her. We creep down the alleyway, the fallen leaves crunching under our feet. Just then, an android runs in front of us. "Hey! Wait!" Keira shouts, chasing it down. "Keira!" I run after her. The android runs into a dead end. My eyes scan the back of the android and notice that the paint is scratched and there's a dent in it's left arm. The android slowly turns around, it's eyes bright red.