Girl Cyborg: A Dystopian Action Adventure Thriller

The Good Doctor?

They stopped at a roadside fish and chip shop. There wasn't another building for miles so at first Bess wondered if they were lost and had stopped to ask directions. As she passed through the door, a bell jangled overhead and the smell of old fish assaulted Bess's nose. She looked around the restaurant, dimly lit with strings of diode lights. Could a place this fly-specked really serve fish? Between overfishing and pollution, real fish had become rare and expensive. Bess checked the blackboard menu on the wall. In spidery handwriting, it advertised fries, battered turnip fillets, and all kinds of cabbage dishes. The place smelled of rot and old grease, not fish.

The lady behind the counter was cutting potatoes so fast the motion of her rubber gloves blurred, as if her chopping arm were cyber. The three of them waited at the counter but if she heard them come in, she didn't react. Lance cleared his throat but she didn't look up. Bess was starting to wonder if the lady were deaf when finally, she stared Bess in the eye.

"You don't look hungry. What do you want?"

The woman stood waiting, as if she were expecting Bess to give a password.

This was it. This stranger had seen through Bess's disguise and knew she was a disgraced Academy cyber. "Uh, I..."

Without waiting for an answer, the lady started hacking up another potato.

Lance said, "We've come to see the doctor. Tell him we're here?"

The lady didn't look up from her cutting. "Sit."

Bess didn't see her summoning him, but she heard a click from under the counter. Had the woman pressed a hidden button?

Bess's legs wobbled as they walked to the nearest table. She sank into a seat, glad for the chance to rest. She was even gladder they didn't order food. The glasses lining the shelves behind the counter looked greasy, their tops grey with dust. She breathed through her mouth so as not to gag on the fishy smell. This place made her want to run outside to breathe but she couldn't. Lance and Kathy were there for her. She refused to show nervousness or ingratitude, especially after Lance overruled his sister's objections to bring them.

After the hospital, they had all been exhausted and Kathy had just wanted to find a motel and sleep. It was the middle of the night and Bess and Kathy were still dressed in their heels and party dresses. Bess couldn't even think anymore because of the extra pain the long car ride and trying to dance in heels had inflicted on her back. Bess didn't complain but Lance had noticed and, despite his own exhaustion, he was determined to get her help right away. It was a good thing, too.

No matter how filthy this place was she couldn't leave, because she wouldn't make it back to the Academy without treatment. And did she ever want to get back. Sitting in the auditorium with Cherry, laughing at the poor sucker in the training video. The good times seemed so far away. The whole class laughing at that foolish cyber who got himself left behind outside of signal range. He deserved to die.

Tonight, Bess was that foolish cyber. She had left the group and her future had been cut out of her body in one brutal operation. No matter what Lance's intentions had been, removing the signal rig had unmade her. She shivered with fever but suddenly felt certain this grimy place offered not a cure but death.

"Take me back to the Academy, now. I don't like this place. Any doctor who would meet me here can't be legit. Look." From the table, she lifted a knife, smeared with grease and dried-on food.

"Why don't we call the Academy and ask them to pick you up?" Kathy pulled out her cell phone.

"No. I promised Bess I'd take her," said Lance.

"That was before father. I'm sure she'll understand if you can't give her taxi service anymore." Kathy stared at Bess, daring her to disagree.

"It's okay," said Bess. "I'm grateful to you both for helping me. I do need a doctor but not here." She rose to get up but her legs collapsed under her, dropping her back into her seat. The others didn't say anything. Kathy sighed and Lance furrowed his brow like an old man. There was no choice.