139 Years to the End of the World

Cyborg People, Part Four

There was a dustbin right beside the shutters that closed off the station. With a quick look around me, I turned on the shield dampener and placed it behind the bin. My original decision to put the gadget inside the bin was overwritten by Clover, who berated me with, "The bins leads to an incinerator, you dumbass."

Annoyed, I replied, "Hey, I'm new here, alright? No need to get you panties in a twist."

Skipping past me again, she instead asked, "You remember the plan?"

"Of course I do, it's my plan!"

She simply nodded, and I wondered if she actually heard me. It's entirely possible that in her 'ignore everyone' mentality, she just saw my mouth move and thought it was an appropriate response.

She continued, "I'm going to head back to the warehouse and wait for you there. Remember, you only have one charge. Any more and your arm will burn out, so make sure you only use it when you are sure it will work."

"Yes mom..." I replied sarcastically, "Just make sure you get the room ready by the time we get there. I'll stall for as long as I can." I waved her away. Childishly out of character, she stuck her tongue out at me before heading off to the warehouse.

I watched her back grow smaller in the distance before ducking out of the dome. I did one final check of my surroundings and after making sure no eyes were on me, I gently lifted opened the station shutters and slid under it, quietly lowering the shutter to a close once I was inside.

Standing within the still empty, abandoned station, I stood still to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I no longer felt the tingling sensation that I had in my arm when I first neared the border, which I could only assume was the work of the shield dampener or a really effective placebo. Either way, I had no idea, nor the necessary knowledge or training to know if the gadget was working. I just had to trust that it was. When my vision finally returned and I got a good look around at my solitude, the muffled sound of happy park goers behind me, my situation sunk in. I could hear the grinding of my clenched teeth from the stress, and try as I might, I could not relax myself enough to ease them.

There were a few up-sides to not being able to physically feel. I don't get tired as easily apparently. There's also that whole situation where I can withstand injuries that should knock a normal person out with the pain. And when things get tense, I don't feel that uncomfortable grip in my stomach.

With deep, hesitant breaths, I headed back to the rebel camp, empty handed and alone. Down the steps into the station, passed the broken gates, and passed the graffiti walls. Onto the train tracks, I tracked the dark cave perimeter to where the dug entrance was. Through the small, cramp, makeshift tunnel, light slowly building up at the end, I stepped out to be surrounded by Jason's men, all with their guns trained on me. Held as human shields on the front line was Amelia, John, and Lindsey, hands bound behind them, a gun to each of their backs.

Jason stepped out of the crowd and onto centre stage, a personal greeting to me. "Sorry Milton, but I had to make sure that you held up the end of you deal." A twisted grin stretched the man's face. "Did you find the bomb?"

From their lack of reactions, I assumed my grandchildren had already found out about the plan. I asked him, "No casualties. You remember saying that?"

"Yes," he agreed, circling around me. I calmly faced forward, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of thought that I might fear him. From behind, he punctuated, "No human casualties."

"What about cyborgs? What about all the people in Roagnark who needs technology to keep them alive?"

"Those things aren't human." He stepped back into view. "They stopped being human when they let those machines inside them. They're just monstrosities now."