The Perfect Machine: Kingdom Of Glass (GxG

20. A Word of Advice

"Are you all right?" I ask Harlow, as she's been silent ever since we left her apartment and everything that happened there.

"We're almost there," She says, referring to a farmhouse farther up the hill. It's the place where her work friend is living. I can't wait for Harlow to get the pill that she needs to contain her illness, as I call it now. She's ill, carrying something inside her body that's going to take her life if we don't get a cure for her.

We pause when we stand in front of the door. The windows are sealed with boards and the steps to the porch have fallen apart. The red paint has faded away from the walls. Just like most low-income households-the house has to be renovated.

Harlow heads up to the patio and gives me her hand to grab. She draws me up to her easily, letting me almost collapse onto her. I blush as I take a step away from her.

"Are you all right?" She asks, and I nod lightly. Harlow taps at the door, and a moment later, a little boy appears.

"Hi," Says Harlow, bending down to his level.

"Are your parents' home?" She asked, but the little boy only stares.

"Who is that, Harry?" Yells a lady from the inside, but she quickly emerges in the doorway.

"Can I help you?" She asks, resting her hand on her hip; she seems irritated that we're interrupting her.

"Is Noah home?" Harlow asks the mother, standing straight again, but the lady sighs.

"No, he left us months ago," She replies sadly, brushing her blonde hair behind her ear.

"What happened?" Harlow questions worriedly.

"May I ask who you are?" The woman raises her voice, offended. Harlow takes off the sunglasses, and the women's eyes widen.

"Come in; you can't be seen out here," She takes Harlow by the arm and brings her into the house. I follow them all, and everything reminds me of my parent's house: old furniture, the scent of rotting wood, and the gaps in the floor.

"I'm sorry, this is River, and I'm Harlow," She explains to the lady who has her arms crossed over her chest, and her son is hiding behind her. Curiously, he's peaking at all of us with his wide brown eyes.

"This is my boy, Harry, and I'm Mary. Noah hasn't been here for months; he left before it would take him," Mary looks down at Harlow's hand with sorrow.

"It wasn't like he was present anyway. He had to leave us before it was too late," She sighs, looking down at her son.

"Didn't he have more tablets left?" Harlow asked.

"No, they stopped supplying them," She stated, drying the tear away from her cheek. I sense defeat in my chest; Harlow has no medicines to take. We're all at a dead end.

"Why?" Harlow looks shocked by what Mary has just told us.

"Noah figured it was to get rid of all of you, and I don't know why the work you did was more effective than anybody else could have done," She shrugs. Harlow looks at nothing as if she is searching for an answer.

"Do you know where we can get more pills?" I ask the woman.

"Yes, but as Noah said, it's a suicide mission, even for someone like you," Mary looks at Harlow.

"I won't go back," Says Harlow, and I watch her.

"If it's the only way we can get them, we've got to," I say, standing my ground.

"We can't," She says, and I grit my teeth as I turn to the front door. I shut it close behind me, and I reach for air. It feels like we hit the wall. There's always a problem, one after the other.

I sit down on the porch, the sun shines on my face, but soon it will disappear behind the mountain. The breeze takes a little sand on its way, but the wind is steady and calming in this warmth. Silence appears to be a wonderful refuge.

I can't believe that Harlow isn't willing to fight for this. We've got to go to find some pills for her. She doesn't deserve to die.

"Are you all right?" I turn back, seeing Mary with a cup in her hand.

"Tea?" She asks, and I nod with a smile as she sits beside me.

"It's not easy, I know," She says, looking at the view as well.

"When my husband began to feel worse and decided to leave, it was overwhelming, but he had to," She sighs.

"You just have to accept that she's not going to be here anymore," Mary says, causing me to clench my jaw.

"Are you two together?" She asks, and I turn to her with wide eyes.

"No," I nearly shouted.

"What makes you think that we're together? "I ask, taken aback.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just assumed by your reaction," She says, lifting her eyebrows.

"We're just friends, I guess," I say, clearing my throat.

"Okay," She answers, and I'm taking a sip of my sweet tea.

"How did the two of you meet? "She asks, and I sigh, but tell her the whole story of the prison, the escape, and the journey to this location.

"If you're just friends, why don't you go home? "She asks, and I turn to her dumbfounded.

"Why would I go home? "I ask, offended that she might suggest anything like that. Harlow needs help, and I can't leave her alone.

"Well, it sounds like you're missing your family, and you don't owe anything to Harlow," She shrugs, and I want to scream in her face how wrong she is, but she's not. Why didn't I go back to my family in the first place?

"Harlow is a lost cause, River. She's not going to survive this; she's going to die whether you like it or not," I stare straight into the air.

"A word of advice: leave before you get too attached," Mary says as she stands up on her feet.

"What if I am?" I ask, staring up at her. She's looking down at me for a while before answering.

"Just make sure your heart won't be the causality."