Hahaha! Of course I did! They started following the flock, tried to coax me into thinking it wasn't so bad, became strangers to me in my own home--they weren't "Mama and Papa" anymore.

( they were two people she had to share a space with, that she breathed easier in when they were gone for work or when she spent her time in the orchards,

or when she was with... )

...I resented them first. ( a nuance. a difference. ) But I hated them pretty quickly after, and they wound up dead just like everyone else. Still living in the same house I grew up in, looking different than I remember... It was easy to stab through their metal chassis, to pull apart their mockery of faces-- those ugly, stupid square heads! To feel their wires wriggling and listen to their speakers struggle to speak my name-- "Spatzi? Oh, Spatzi, please!"-- I felt sick, hearing such endearments so robotically said--

( kromer's voice rises with every word until finally she stops. she inhales slowly and starts picking apart the mistletoe in her hands. )

It's easily to kill strangers. ( a sidelong smile at don. ) You know what I mean?