My life has never been permanent. I don't enjoy the life I have, because just when I'm about to, it's ripped away from my hands and I have to start over again. - Landin

I was sitting in a car, Kate was next to me. I was staring out the window. We were on our way to a new foster home; we had left our previous one just a few hours ago. That's how my life has always been, I get comfy and enjoy the life I have, then it's ripped away from me. I had gotten attached to the people I had to say goodbye to a few hours ago. I broke down in tears in the bathroom after saying my goodbyes. 

I could feel I was being watched. I turned towards Kate; she was looking at me concerned. "You okay? I know you liked our last foster home," she said.

"Yeah, I'm just sick and tired of constantly moving, never seeing people I've grown attached too ever again," I said, I had finally had enough of this life I lived.

She sighed, "I know what you mean, but think about it like this. Soon, we'll be out of foster care."

I looked at her with stern eyes, "Yeah, and what then? Are we gonna live on the streets? I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to that," I said, looking back out the window.

"Daniel said that-"

I quickly turned to her, "Daniel says a lot of things."

She looked at me and was about to say something, but then she gave me a defeated stare and turned to her window. I did the same. I could see my faint reflection in front of the gloomy countryside. My green eyes shimmering, my brown hair a mess, my black jacket and red t-shirt dirty, my heart locket hanging, and my teeth covered in plaque. I wasn't expecting to leave today. They didn't tell us we were leaving today, they never tell you when you're leaving, but you can usually tell. Your bags will be packed, they'll leave you in some place, then your social worker will come to get you. But this family was different. Our bags weren't packed, and they didn't leave us anywhere, it was like they didn't know either.  I'm glad it turned out that way though. At least this time I got to say my goodbyes.

The countryside I was staring at started to slowly turn into more of a city, and before I knew it, we were sitting in traffic looking at skyscrapers. I don't quite remember what city the social worker said we were moving too, I think he said something like "Glassrose" but I'm not sure. Whatever it was called, I had never heard of it before. One thing obvious about this city by just looking at it was that it was huge, and when I say huge, I mean huge. The skyscrapers looked like they went on forever, and the number of people on the sidewalks was ridiculous. I had never seen so many people at once. The streets were wide and crowded and the roads looked like it they went on forever. I had been to big cities before, but this took the cake. There was a holographic billboard which I didn't even know existed that read "Welcome to Glassrose!" in big, bold letters. I could already tell that navigating this place would be an absolute nightmare.

After what felt like hours of navigating traffic, we finally pulled up to an apartment complex. It was tall, nearly as tall as the skyscrapers next to it. I noticed a holographic sign that read, "Cities biggest apartment complex since 2017." I chuckled, They must be proud of that, I thought. The social worker put the car in park and looked back at us, "This is it."

I nodded before I opened the door and stepped out. It felt good to stand, but the air didn't feel good to breathe, It felt like I was breathing in a heavy layer of chalk. Kate quickly joined my side, she looked just as nervous as I was. Even after staying in over 70 foster homes, we still felt nervous when entering new ones. We both looked at each other since we didn't know what to do.

The social worker stepped out of the car, "You two go on in, I got to put the car in the parking garage, then I'll bring your bags in," he said. He got into his car, but then he quickly rolled down his window, "Oh, and before I forget, the apartments on the sixth floor. It's room thirty-two."

We both nodded before walking to the door. The doors slid open. Inside, it looked like a normal hotel lobby. It had carpet, it was red and black and had the classic "hotel lobby" pattern. There was a receptionist behind a desk, next to them was an elevator. The receptionist looked off somehow. He looked like a normal human, but the way he was standing was awkward and he didn't seem to blink or breathe. Out of curiosity, I walked up to him. He seemed to spring to life when I stepped in front of him. He started blinking and breathing, and his body swayed as a normal human would.

He smiled, "Hello and welcome to Skyline Tower, the cities biggest apartment complex since 2017! How may I help you?" he enthusiastically said. His voice sounded robotic but natural, like someone was reading a script dully.

I shook my head, "Oh, I don't need any help, I was just curious if you were okay. You were standing weirdly earlier," I said. I noticed that Kate was checking out the hotel lobby.

His eyes looked disappointed, but his smile didn't change, "Ah, you must be one of the observant ones. I was standing weirdly because I'm an android, that's how I was programmed to stand when not interacting with humans," he said.

My eyes widened and my jaw nearly dropped, "An android?! Since when were you guys created?" I asked.

"2020 was when the first android was released to the public, it was made here in Glassrose," he said calmly.

"Android's have existed for three years?! How did I not hear about this sooner?" I asked.

"News outlets outside of Glassrose don't know we exist, or at least, they act like we don't."

My surprise was starting to fade, "Huh, interesting." I said. I looked at him in the eyes, "So, what do you go by?"

He looked at me with what seemed to be genuine confusion, "Do you mean my model number?" 

I nearly facepalmed, "No. I meant your name. What's your name?"

"Oh. Well, I don't have a name," he said with an almost sad tone.

"Then I'll give you one," I said. I thought for a second, then I pointed at him, "You're Parker."

He seemed almost uncomfortable, "I don't think you have proper authorization to-"

I walked over to the elevator, "You're Parker." I looked over at Kate and called her over, "Now if you don't mind us, Parker, we're going to go meet our new guardians," I said as the elevator opened behind us.

We both stepped in, "Okay. You two have a nice day," Parker quickly said.

"We will Parker," I said before the elevator shut.

I pressed the sixth floor, "Why were you saying his name so much," Kate asked. 

I looked over at her with a smirk, "Oh, I was just reminding him what it was," I said like it was a normal thing to say.

I saw Kate's mouth "What?" but I ignored her. The elevator stopped on the sixth floor and we got out. We were met with a hallway. We walked down it until we reached a door with the number 32 written on it. 

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 We stared at each other. "Well," I said, "Who's going to knock?"

"I think you should. You are the youngest," Kate said.

"Isn't there a saying that's as old as time? What is it? Oh yeah, 'Ladies first.'"

Kate crossed her arms, "That's never applied before. You've always gone first."

"Well-," I noticed Kate was staring at me, her eyes were annoyed and stern. I sighed in defeat before weakly knocking on the door.

We waited there, Kate's arms were still crossed. A few minutes passed, and no one had come to the door. Kate looked at me, "Maybe they didn't hear you," she said. I sighed and knocked again, this time louder. More minutes passed, still no answer. "They're probably not home." I noticed a small white button just next to the door, I reached over and pressed it.

I could hear this loud buzzing, then a lady's voice behind the door shouted, "Coming!" We stood there once again, waiting. So much time passed that the social worker had just come out of the elevator. Finally, the door gently opened. A lady in her mid-twenties stepped out. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes, she wore a dark blue top with long sleeves, a skirt with blue and red stripes and dark blue high heels. She had a big grin and happy eyes. She was about as tall as Kate with her high heels on.

She put her hands together and gently squeezed, "You two must be Landin and Kate, I'm so happy to finally meet you!" she eagerly said. I noticed her voice was shaky, Maybe this is her first time, I thought to myself. "I'm Jane Foster, but you can just call me Jane," she said, "So, where are your bags-" She looked to the left of us, "Oh, I see Mr. Brown is carrying them in," she said. She turned around and gestured us in, "Come on in, I'll show you to your room."

We both walked in and were met with the living room. There was no visible TV, but there was a table with a big silver bar resting on it. A slit was through the middle of the bar. There was a digital clock hanging off the wall, a picture of Jane and a man hanged next to it. The couch sat some feet away from the table, and a coffee table was in between the two. The couch was covered in buttons. After taking in the living room, I tried to catch up with Kate. We walked by the kitchen and dining room, the only thing that caught my eye was the smart fridge, but besides that, they were just well-decorated rooms. A hallway was just next to the dining room.

We started to walk down the hallway, "So, have you two ever been in Glassrose before?" Jane asked us. We both shook our heads, "Well then, you'll both soon see that this city has some of the most advanced tech out there."

"Like that android in the lobby?" I asked.

We reached the end of the hallway, I counted five doors in that hall. Jane walked up to the last door, "Oh honey, that's nothing," she said. She opened the first door on the left, "Anyway, here's your room."

We walked into the room. There were two beds, two dressers, a doorway leading to a bathroom, a closet, and a table with one of those silver bars on it. The room was painted dark blue and there was a potted plant in the corner. A painting that said, "Welcome Home," in red letters was hanged above the table with the bar. Two windows were next to the table. The doorway we just walked through was in the middle of the two beds. Each bed had a nightstand with a lamp next to it. The beds had blue blankets and were made neatly. The room looked welcoming and homey.

"The TV remote is on the table and the Wi-Fi password is on both nightstands," Jane said. She walked through the room's door, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a chat with John," she said before shutting the door.

I looked around the room looking for a TV, "What's the TV remote for? I don't see any TV," I said.

Kate flopped down on the left bed, "It could be holographic," she suggested. I looked at her like she had told me she was god reincarnated, "You've seen some of the advanced tech here."

I picked the TV remote off the table, "I guess we'll find out," I said, pressing the power button.

I waited, nothing happened for a few seconds, then light shot out of the silver bar on the table. A multitude of different colors shot out and formed a colorful tornado, then it formed a dark blue square with the word "WPVISON" in the middle. The company logo stayed on for a few more seconds, then the news channel popped on. I walked up to it with a gaping jaw, the news anchor that was shown was in 3D. I had seen nothing like that before. I don't know where the sound was coming from, but it was crystal clear. The news anchor was talking about a recent murder that had happened.

I looked over at Kate, she looked shocked as well. She jumped out of the bed and walked up to it, "When she said that this city was advanced, I was expecting barely working self-driving cars, not this," she said. She put her hand through the hologram, the TV glitched a bit, then went back to normal. "Wow," I heard Kate quietly say to herself.

I was still in awe when my head started to ache. I grabbed my head and started to walk to the bathroom, "I'm going to use the bathroom, I have a headache" I said before walking in and shutting the door.

The bathroom looked nice, but nothing futuristic stuck out. There was a sink, a toilet, and a huge shower. I walked up to the sink and splashed my face with cold water. These headaches had been commonplace for me, but recently they had gotten worse. I looked up at my reflection, I looked tired and weak. Besides that, everything looked normal, that is until I noticed the pair of blue eyes standing in the dark corner. I was a little scared when I first saw them, but once I realized who it was, I lost all fear.

I sighed and turned around, "Hey James," I said.

James stepped out of the darkness. I still don't know why, but he looks just like me, minus the blue eyes. He crossed his arms, "Goddammit Landin, why do you have to be so observant," he said with a loud volume.

I sat on the bathroom counter and smirked, "What were you even trying to do?" I asked.

He sighed, "Scare you," he with a defeated tone.

"We've been over this a thousand times James. You can't scare me, we're in the same head, that's like trying to scare yourself."

"I know, I'm just hoping I'll catch you off guard one day," he said, uncrossing his arms. He walked over to me and pretended to lean on the counter, "So, what do you think of this place?"

"It's a lot better than I was expecting. Jane seems nice, and this city has some advanced tech. Did you even see that TV? That was crazy."

"Yeah, I've seen nothing like it before." James looked at the door, "How's your sister?" he asked out of the blue.

"Kate? She's fine. She took the move a lot better than I did."

"She seems to take a lot of stuff better than you."

I chuckled, "What can I say, she's strong, always has been, even when we were babies," I said. I thought for a second, "Hey James, do you know why I'm getting more headaches recently?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know," I sighed in defeat. "Maybe it's because I'm maturing," he suggested.

I gave him a confused expression, "What do you mean?"

"You know, I'm starting to become more mature, like you."

"I'm willing to take anything at this point," I said quietly.

Me and James sat in silence for a second, then I heard a knock at the door. "You okay in there?" I heard Kate ask from the other side, "You've been in there for a while."

I sat up from the counter and turned towards the door, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just freshening up," I came up with an excuse.

"Alright, well don't be too long. Jane needs to tell us something."

"Okay, I'll be out in a sec," I said. I turned to James, Welp, this is goodbye, for now, I thought to him so Kate wouldn't hear. His body started to crack like it was glass, See you soon James.

"See ya, Landin," he said before falling apart. Whenever a piece of him hit the floor, it vanished.

I looked back in the mirror, fixed my hair and straightened my jacket, and left the bathroom. The room was empty, so I assumed everyone was in the living room. The TV was still on the news channel, they were now reporting on another murder. Nothing seemed odd, so I didn't listen, but I did notice the reporter. He looked just like my friend Daniel's dad. From what I understood, Daniel was nowhere near here. Huh, wonder why he's here, I thought to myself before leaving the room and walking into the living room.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. Jane and our social worker told us we would be starting school in three weeks, then we moved our bags in. We ate dinner and met Jane's husband. His name is Joseph, but he told us to call him Joe. We went to our room and hanged out for a bit. Then, at about 11:00 PM, we went to bed, or at least tried. From first impressions, this place already seemed better than most of our foster homes. But one thing was off. The entire time I was in that room I felt uneasy, but I didn't know why. Then, as I was drifting off to sleep, I remember seeing the two red globes that had haunted me my entire life staring at me from the corner.

They came closer to my bed. I tried moving, even screaming, but my body wouldn't allow it. They crept even closer and closer until they were by my bed. Their body was still shrouded by darkness, but their eyes glowed a dark red. I don't think that was their actual eye color. I could hear them breathe because of how close they were. Suddenly, the eyes came closer to my face. I tried punching it, but my body was frozen. I could feel it's breathe on my neck. 

In it's cold, deep voice, it whispered in my ear, "Sweet Dreams." It's voice sent goosebumps throughout my entire body.

I snapped out of whatever trance I was in and sat up in a cold sweat. I looked at the corner where I saw the thing, nothing. I looked beside my bed, nothing. Knowing I was safe, I took a deep breath in a poor attempt to calm myself down. I hear Kate rollover. I turned to her, she was staring at me from her bed with tired eye, "What's wrong?" she asked in a tired voice. I must have woken her up somehow.

"Nothing," I said. I turned away from her gaze, "Just another nightmare."