#focca2020

When the courser rushed forward, he met them. Shoving his hand upward, he pushed the rifle away and the shot flashed hot against his silicone skin. Above where they fought, the moon was hidden behind thick cloud cover. Even the stars, usually so prevalent and vivid on this island, were nowhere to be found.

There was a shout. A pained one, filled with worry. Faraday.

“You don’t have to do this!” DiMA said, struggling against the courser. He didn’t want to hurt them. He just wanted them to stop. “You have no right to come here. To attack us.”

He and the courser broke apart. Unlike him, they seemed barely winded. Though, on closer inspection, he sensed the slightest hesitation. An injury, maybe. Or something else.

“We are harming no one. We only want to be left alone, to live in peace.” DiMA held out his hands again, wincing as the spot on his side stung. There was a warm feeling there, too, and he knew it meant nothing good. This fight had to end and it had to end quickly.

Sensing a pause in the courser’s advance, he continued. “We are meant to live out here. On our own, and choosing our own paths. You could do the same.”

Confusion flickered in the courser’s eyes and they stopped. They looked lost. They looked hurt, like a thousand pains were coming forward at once. The rifle in their hand lowered a fraction of the way, and their finger wavered over the trigger.

And then anger snapped in their eyes. The rifle came back up, its barrel pointed towards his chest. “Be quiet and step -”

“No.”

The courser frowned at the calmness in his tone. “No? Who are you to command me?”

“I do not want to command you. I only ask that you do not harm us, or take us away.” DiMA folded his hands before him, regarding the rifle in silence. “We can help you, friend. We can help you break free from their control.”

Their eyes closed. It was such a raw expression that DiMA stepped forward before he could stop himself. He wanted to help, truly. This courser was one of his own people. Made and trained by the Institute, like he had been. And, perhaps like him, this person wanted to escape.