October 16th, 1807 C.X.
[66 Days Till Erasure]
The night before this, Max was kinda terrified of Melissa's smiles as she sat at the center of the table while everyone had dinner. To her left, was Lin, as usual, and to her right was Chuck. He was pretty happy eating boar meat that Albert had cooked for all of them. Albert was seated next Chuck, as they both were the ones adding spices and cooking for them. They had brought the portable electric stove from the kitchen and Max and Hershel had taught them to use it. It took them ten minutes, but they finally had gotten the hang of it.
Chuck: This is MUCH easier than firewood!!
Melissa: I know right....??!
Melissa closed her eyes and smiled at Chuck. She began eating and she was happy with how it tasted. Lin wasn't saying anything and just silently ate in his chair. Hershel stood beside him aiding assistance when asked, like a true butler. Max meanwhile, was seated next to Lin, away from Melissa.
He was just occasionally glancing at Melissa, her smiles now seeming eerie, and it was all due to Lin. Lin had no change in expression whatsoever, but Max was now terrified. He was already bad at gauging the interests of women, let alone figuring out their emotions. Melissa seemed like a happy-go-lucky woman, but Max couldn't trust that anymore.
He was also annoyed that this might just have been a prank by Lin, so as to keep Max away from his "crush" as Lin feared Max would "steal his girl". But this was all just a hypothesis, that Max had no proof for.
That night Max didn't sleep. He went back to bed and lied down, but he couldn't stop thinking about all the variables. As the sun rose, he realised that they had been moving the entire night. Soon enough they landed the Dome in what looked like an abandoned desert.
Max got up and went to Hershel. Hershel had somehow made him a cup of coffee, and offered it to Max.
Max: Thanks....
Hershel: You are welcome, Master Max...
Max: I thought we told you not to call us Masters...
Hershel: I'll try to change that in my future conversations...
Max: You said that last time too...
Hershel: Oh, did I?? I'm very sorry for that, Master Max...
Max sighed. This was typical A.I behaviour, way back in 2021 too. Even when commanded something, it goes backs to it's root programming. He didn't know how much technology had advanced in the missing four years, but A.I. still seemed the same, ignoring the literal robot body.
Max: So...who all woke up..?
Hershel: You are the earliest one, Master Max...but Master Lin.....Lanford was awake the entire night. He said that he doesn't really sleep...
Max: Oh I see..
Max was kinda amused that Hershel still refused to use Lin's real name. Even a robot could be petty, Max thought.
Max: Anyway...how long until we can move again...??
Hershel: About two hours, sir....and I estimate that we will reach our destination in five hours after starting..
Max's eyes lightened again.
Max: Sweet!!! I can't wait!!
Max got back to the clothes room. Prior to this day, they had emptied most of the clothing with the other four taking the clothes that fit them, to their room. Max didn't want to do that, as he wanted to save some for the people who would wake up in the future.
He chose a simple peach T-shirt and wore black track pants, and went back up. He brushed his teeth, and came out of his room. He saw a sleepy eyed Melissa at the hallway, walking with a cute pillow in her arms.
Melissa: Gwood...moarning!!
She yawned halfway through the greeting. Max was still nervous and scared a bit of ber, but he still smiled and greeted her back.
Max: Good morning...catch enough sleep??
Melissa: Yeah...I think sho....it's been a long time since I slept this peacefully...
Max: Oh....that's amazing, I guess. Can you check up on Chuck too??
Melissa gave him a thumbs up and turned and walked towards the library. She seemed extremely harmless to Max, but that's what scared him. But he then decided to treat her normally and not the way he was doing right there. He wanted to believe ber...so he wanted to be able to trust her. It might be a front, but it also could not be one. He just didn't like judging people based on what others told him.
Max jumped to the ground floor and went to the training room. He opened the massive doors to the Combat Room and Lin was there, sweating profusely, as he was shirtless and practicing with his blades. He had a perfect upper body, filled with muscles, proving himself to be a strong opponent.
Lin: You're awake huh...?? Where are we now..
Max: Somewhere...we will be ready to leave in two hours..
Lin: I see...
Max: So...
He walked up to Lin and put an arm around his shoulders and grinned..
Max: I've got an idea!!! Our work for the next two hours...!!
Lin was creeped out.
****
Max huffed and puffed as they both finally sat down. Albert was standing beside them, sweating too.
Lin: That was the last one!!
Max: Yeah....thank you!! You too Albert..
Albert: Don't mention it.
Twenty minutes after Max had told Lin his plan, they had woken up Albert, and had gone to every corner of the Dome. Max was very happy realizing that none of the pods need to be connected with anything for them to still be frozen.
Max hated the fact that they were all placed at different rooms throughout the Dome, so with the help of the other two, and Hershel's directions, they had carried all the pods to the first floor, behind the kitchen. Carefully placing them one by one, even Chuck helped them from time to time.
Max took a big piece of paper, that he had requested from Melissa. He wrote some instructions in English for the ones in the Pods. He wanted them to be ready when they wake up. After doing that he pasted it on the wall opposite to them.
It had been two hours already and everybody were in different clothes, ready for flight.
And soon, they were up in the air and in no time. They reached their next destination, and landed in a plain green field. The next Dome was somewhere nearby.
October 16th, 1807 C.X. 3:34 PM