The first thing I realize when I wake up the next day is that I can't move. My mind and body are both in extreme stages of exhaustion. I've pushed it to its limit while neglecting it at the same time. I groan, before turning over. I can't go back to sleep because I already slept for about twelve hours and my system is fully charged. I decided to just lay here for a bit. I open my settings menu as a hologram above my chest. I put my mechanical half into sleep mode so it will rest without continuing to charge.
Hours later I can feel the human side of my body again. I decide to check the news before getting up for the day. I was recovering for so long that the 6 o'clock news is already on. My human heart nearly bursts through my chest when I see a blurry picture of myself running down a street. I click the play button and three newscasters are sitting at a table watching a video. My favorite reporter is sitting in the middle of them so, I skip forward to hear what she has to say.
"Thank you Mr. Lancaster. This is Genesis Volt reporting to you from the L.A. newsroom. Two days ago we reported that mechanical lifeforms had broken into and burned an anti-robot corporation nearly to the ground. Footage from earlier that day shows a young cyborg with a feminine appearance running down the street of a small strip mall. The person in question went inside a small abandoned shop and came out wearing garments that covered their mechanical extremities. After searching the store and deeming it abandoned it was concluded that these items were either stolen or left there for this unknown person. The video was taken too far for the face to be distinguished and pictures of them walking are out of focus. About a half an hour before this person allegedly broke into and escaped from Area 51, which is where all robotic prisoners escaped from later that day. This is the first mechanical life form reported before the rest of the attacks took place and this person may be the cause. If you have any information about this person please contact us immediately. This has been Gen V signing off."
My human heart clenches as it beats way faster than it should. I am relieved that my mechanical generator stops me from dying if I have a heart attack because that is what this feels like. I wonder why they said Elijah's shop was abandoned. I hope nothing bad happened to him. Hell, I hope nothing bad happens to me. My mother is going to kill me when she finds out I'm a wanted borg on two planets.
The gears in my right leg creak as I sit upright on my bed. My muscles throb slightly, begging me not to stand. This is the longest I've been able to stop running and fighting for my life. My body has finally caught up to me, and all the adrenaline has drained. I limp over to the bathroom to carefully brush my mouth, another thing I haven't done in a while. Even though my father made me waterproof it still tingles the circuits in my tongue, which is the only bionic part in my mouth aside from the roof of it. When I finish I make my way downstairs. I stop before turning the corner so I can check my internal clock. It's 7:30 pm so my mother has been at work for about four hours and hasn't called. I believe that to be a good sign. My father turns to me as he senses me approaching him.
"You're lucky to be alive. You're mother almost went straight upstairs to choke you when she saw you on the news. I persuaded her to let you rest since you've had a rough day, er, life rather. Naturally she felt sorry for her baby, so she let it go for the time being," He informs me.
My heart clenches and drops all at once. These damn emotions again. I will never understand how full humans feel these things and just live with it. I often wonder how my father can feel things like love. I realize I don't know many personal facts about my dad, only things about his legacy I've heard through whispers.
"Can you feel any other emotions besides love?" I ask him.
He ponders this question for a moment. "I was programmed to feel pleasure, curiosity, anger, longing, sympathy, empathy, pride, sadness and happiness. I can sense the emotions of others and I know that you are experiencing guilt and fear. Though I do not feel these things I understand them. Your mother just wants you to be safe. The foot she'll put in your ass later will be out of love."
He places his hand on my shoulder and pats it awkwardly. I appreciate the fact that he attempts to show me affection despite the fact that he sucks at it. He informs me that the first meeting tonight is at 8:00. He's not letting me go to this one but promises to take to one in the near future. He needs me to stay here and place the AA batteries in the flashlights. Then boil the glow sticks until the chemical compound changes. Once i'm done that I am to take some of the water bottles from the recycling bin and pour two glow sticks in them before filling the rest of the bottle with lighter fluid. I have to pack the remaining batteries in a bag. He lets me know that he'll be back before my mom gets off of work at midnight. 44Please respect copyright.PENANADU82oo4Mhj
I nod as I process all the instructions he just gave me. I can't believe my mother actually bought him those sketchy supplies last night. He prepares to leave and tells me I can call him anytime I need him. Once he's gone I settle down on the couch to pack the flashlights with batteries which takes about fifteen minutes. I walk into the kitchen and extend my arm to grab the giant soup pot from atop the fridge. I fill it halfway with water and turn the stove on high. I drop a whole pack of 20 glow sticks into the water to start with. She bought 4 packs so I repeat this process until they're all boiled. I drain the water and bring the whole pot to the garage.
I open the recycling bin and grab a handful of bottles. I retract my pointer finger and replace it with a small but powerful saw. I remove the tops of the glow stick tubes and pour the liquid in the bottle, causing it to glow slightly. The smell of the air once I add the lighter fluid is repulsive. In the end I have 50 water bottles filled with the shady concoction my father requested. I place them back into the square recycling bins neatly.
I lay on the couch, proud at how productive I was today. I pull up the news to read about the numerous attacks, each more gruesome and vengeful than the last. In the middle of reading about a debate on if they should just make us members of society again I hear a frantic banging on my front door. As I inch closer to the door I can hear a female's wheezing sob. I look out my window and see a girl clutching a lumpy blanket. I replace my hand with a taser just in case. As I crack the door open,her fearful eyes flicker with hope.
"Please help me. I have a child who is injured and I need help. Please, he's just a baby," She pleads.
I know I shouldn't let her in for many reasons, but I do it anyway. I allow my mechanical hand to return before extending my arm to reach my father's jacket from the coat rack. I put it on, thankful that it nearly goes well past my ankles, and flip the hood up over my head. I open the door all the way and the girl rushes in. I quickly lock the door behind her before peeking out the window. I am about to ask her what happened, but she speaks before I do.
"Do you have a bathroom?" She asks frantically.
I gesture towards the staircase where the bathroom is right across from. She nods before rushing there with the oddly shaped blanket in tow. I stand awkwardly in my living room, hoping nothing goes wrong. I don't even know what the protocols for human company are.
Do I feed her? Do I make normal human interaction? I don't know how to do that. Almost all of the humans I've talked to recently wanted to kill me.
My thoughts are interrupted by the carbon monoxide alarm going off. I extend my hand again, twisting it slightly so that it shuts off. I look towards the bathroom door and see a dark smoke coming from under the door.
Oh my god I killed her. I let a human into my home and now she' s dead. What do you do with burnt human? Why didn't my father program me with this knowledge?
I sprint to the bathroom and swing open the door. The girl is sobbing again and hiccuping as she sits on the ground with her knees to her chest. The blanket is spread open on the bathroom floor and in the middle is what appears to be a battered android baby. The gears in his chest are smoking badly, and he twitches every so often. I look up at the girl when I realize the bathroom got very quiet all of a sudden. Tears silently rush down her cheeks as she points a revolver at me. Her hands are shaking and her teeth are gritted.
"I know what you're gonna do to us. I just ran from a homeless shelter that found out what he was. Call them, go ahead. Call the government so they can take away and rip apart an innocent child just because he's different!" She screams.
"I can fix him. Let me just take him upstairs," I offer as I reach down to pick him up.
She panics and shoots me four times. Twice in my left arm, once on my chest and once on my right leg. The only one that hurt was the one in my chest because she hit where my flesh and mechanical parts meet. The other three just ricocheted off the metal without any harm. I stand with my hands up and look at her as much as I can through my hood. She slowly puts her revolver back into her jacket. She hesitantly walks over to me and slowly exposes my face. The girl keeps going as she slides the jacket off me. It hits the floor and i'm standing there in my shorts and T-shirt. She doesn't flinch when she sees that half of my body is made of titanium. She looks right into my eyes, not minding that one is made of copper.
"Fix him please," She whispers as she backs up.
I wrap him up inside the blanket again before bringing him upstairs. I let the girl sit at my desk as I lay him on top of my work bench. I take out my tool box before examining him. I use my eye to scan him as a copy of his blueprint projects out of my cornea and onto the wall in front of me. I replace nearly all of the gears in his chest. I have to rewire his battery pack and reset the coils in his eyes. He is missing an arm so I give him the tiny silver one I had when I was younger. I plug him up to the charging station I have for when I need a manual reboot. The girl and I leave my bedroom since now there is nothing left to do but wait to see if he recovers.
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