Who Am I?

Chapter Three

Mechanical parts rolled across the room, screws, fuses and plugs flew into the air as Anti continued to dig through the boxes of spare parts. "There has to be a decent walking stick in here or something, or maybe a-hello what's this?" He pushed a few pieces of scrap metal aside, revealing what looked like a pair of stilts, only they looked like they'd only come up to the knee. "What the?" He pulled them out of the box and inspected them. They were a pair of spring loaded braces that aided walking, the adjustable buckles and dials enabled a customised fit. With trembling fingers, Anti fastened the braces to his legs, a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. As he stood up, he could feel the springs in the braces adjusting to his weight, providing the perfect amount of support and resistance. For the first time, he had no pain in his hips and knees, no creaking or weakness. "A snug fit." He commented, taking a deep breath and stepped forward. No pain, no stumbling, complete stability. "Wow..." He gasped, taking another few confident steps forward. "Look at me! I'm walking! I'm walking!" But no one was around to witness his victory, he had forgotten that his master had written him off, no longer caring and supportive of him. The demon felt a lump in his throat. He swallowed hard and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I don't need him anymore. I'm getting out of here, and I'm taking my clones with me." He turned to the door as the handle began to rattle. "Shit," he cursed, looking back at the machine. "I knew they'd come back." Still getting used to his mechanical aids, Anti clumsily ran around the back of the machine to hide, the braces clanking against the floor with each step. He crouched behind one of the generators and held his breath.

"All done? Bet you don't remember a thing no-what the?"

Bob's angered voice shook the room, both he and Trent stood in awe at the motionless DNA machine with no victim in its grips. "Where is he?" He sprung at Trent and grabbed him by the collar and lifting him from the floor. "I-I don't know, that machine is inescapable!" He stuttered, grabbing Bob's hands as they crept up to his neck. "Obviously it's not, is it? How's he gotten out?" He shook Trent hard, his glasses falling off of his face and onto the floor. "You'd better hope he's still in here or I'll have you put in that, understand?" He dropped Trent to the floor and he shuffled back. "Y-yes, sir." He scrambled to his feet and began searching around the room. "Looks as though he's ransacked the place." Bob commented, joining the search. Shit. Anti thought, adjusting himself slightly. He turned and saw a vent next to him, the cover hanging off by the screws. He gently removed the last two screws and placed them on the floor quietly, he then pulled the cover off and rested it against the wall.

"I mean it, Trent."

"Sir, I don't think he's in here."

"He's got to be!"

Anti turned and saw a shadow looming around the corner, he quickly clambered into the vent, his mechanical legs clanking and banging against its metal surface.

"What was that?" Bob barked, rushing over to the source of the noise. He spied the open vent and the cover against the wall. "Little fucker." He growled, kicking the cover angrily, sending it across the room. "Find him, sir?" Trent asked before retreating back away from Bob. "Tell me Trent, does your machine have an enslavement program? Like brainwashing?" He asked. "No, but I can add something like that Sir." He replied. "Excellent," Bob smiled, turning to look at the machine. "It would seem that he's gotten into the vents, I'll have Titan and Salvador track him and bring him back here, if you could get to work?" Trent nodded and scurried over to the control panel to get to work.