Hey guys! It's Emma, and back again with yet another story. But this time, from the Lunar Chronicles. If you can't tell, than the name Ella is taken from CinderELLA, and she lives in the former Republic of America. This is a year after Cinder failed saving the world. And just so you know, I assume that 576808762141355 years later they'd perfect SOME type of technology to change someone's appearances and the colour of their hairs and eyes. *wink wink*

Ella's P.O.V.

"I need you to breathe in very deeply, miss Ella. You will start to get a little drowsy."

I did what they asked. It was a common procedure, and I have done it hundreds of times before. My eyes already started drooping, and my vision wavered.

"Good. A couple more minutes and you'll be under, Ella." The masked voice said. I couldn't tell if it was Dr. Bade or Dr. Mahdis. They were the ones who normally did my surgery.

When I was born, I had a messed up knee and hand. Trying to fix them, those idiot doctors hit a couple nerves, and since then, I couldn't feel a thing in those limbs. They said I was lucky, that even if those doctors were useless, they managed to salvage the remaining hand and Leg I had. I can control them, but I won't feel a thing for the rest of my life.

I blinked slowly. It took all my effort to stay awake. I always said I didn't need the sleepy drug. I wasn't afraid of a little pain, not that I would be able to feel anything. They always refused, saying that my stomach wasn't strong enough to see my own blood. No matter what I said, they rejected it every time.

My next surgery would be two weeks later, on my spine. When I was little, my biological mother and aunt were abusive, and threw me against a wall once. It shattered my spine, so they had to support it with a small metal brace, that looks kinda like a chip. Small and rectangular. I had to get it replaced every six months, right after I've recovered from the limb surgeries.

"One more, now." Okay, that was DEFINITELY Dr. Bade.

And that was my last thought before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I awoke to flames.

Flames, everywhere. Smoldering, burning. Smoke stinging my eyes.

I sat up suddenly, and swatted my arms and legs, trying to kill the fire. My scratching and hitting stopped as I slowly realized that I wasn't in a burning room. I was just lying on the hospital bed, my arm and leg covered in bandages. There was a wheelchair and crutches waiting next to the white blankets.

I slung my feet over, and reached for the crutches. I was technically supposed to use the wheelchair on my first three days, but I refused to be completely useless. Unsteadily, I lifted myself up using my good arm, and supported my weight into the crutches. They modified the second one to fit the needs of my bad hand, so as I wouldn't put too much weight on it.

I walked out of the room, finding my way in the hospital fairly quickly. I made my way down to the cafeteria.

"Good morning, Ella." One of the cooks, Vidula, said.

"Hey, Vi. What do you have today?"

"We have oatmeal, green tea, and something that at best resembles some kind of slime." Although she cooked the food, that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Oh, stars." I muttered. "Just the tea, please."

Vidula handed me a teacup, a tea bag, and another cup of boiling water, and said bye. I waved back to her while finding my spot.

Ah. Seat 265Wk90ef36HZ. Perfect.

I was about to pour in my tea, until I noticed that Vidula had sneaked in na fortune cookie into my teacup. These "unhealthy" foods weren't normally allowed in the hospital, but there's a reason I like old Viddy so much.

I sat down, and studied my table mates. Seat 22i6Fj568fTD5 diagonal was taken, but the rest were empty.

Timing always perfect, somebody came up behind me and tapped me on my shoulder.

I whipped my head around to find a familiar smiling face. I scowled in response.

"Sashi! Don't do that, geez." I growled.

"Sorry," Sashi giggled. "I can't help it."

I sighed. Ladies and gentleman, Sashi, everyone.

"How's your sister? Is Shashi doing well?" I asked, turning serious for a second.

Sashi grinned. "She's doing great! She wanted to come meet you herself, but the nurses wouldn't let her, but she's getting a pass two days later!"

"That's awesome! Thank the stars, I was really worried about her."

Sashi is my best friend, and her twin sister Shashi is sick. She has something wrong with her body, and she lives in the hospital, except for those 3 day pass she gets monthly. She skipped last month's because she wasn't well enough, but at least this time she'll be out.

"When are you getting discharged?" Sashi asked me.

"Today. I just have to get a check up after a quick breakfast, and then I'm good to go. I better get to work right after, you know how our family is." I said.

Sashi deflated. "Can't you just miss work for one day? Just one?"

"Sorry, Sash. I have to go. Our family really needs the univs. But you can come with." I added.

And just like that, her sad mood was instantly gone. "Really? Oh my stars, this will be so much fun! I can't wait!"

I chuckle at her peppy attitude, and gather up my undrunk tea on the tray while shoving the packaged fortune cookie into my red hoodie's pocket. "I better go. Dr. Bade wanted to see me at 8:30. I have negative five minutes for a fifteen minute crutch. Think I can make it?" I asked.

Sashi laughed. "Only if you hurry."

"Bye." I said, hugging her as I crutched towards the door.

"Love you, El." She stood by the door as she watched me hobble down the hall.

After ten minutes, I arrived at my room. Dr. Bade was waiting for me.

"You're late." He said, his eyes narrowed. His striking hazel eyes pierced my forehead. My blue ones bored back at him.

"So I am." I replied defiantly.

Dr. Bade sighed. "You have to get here on time. You have no idea how important your life is. Use your brain, Ella." I scoffed. How important my life is? I'm just a mechanic here, with a mother and a baby sister. How important does he think I am? "Just sit down." He said firmly, before I had the chance to talk back at him.

He ran some tests of how my limbs were working, and in no time, I was discharged. I picked Sashi up, who was still not done eating her slime, and walked to her hover.

Lucky girl. She has her own hover. I wish I had my own.

She drove us to the market, and parked her hover. Sashi's arm supporting me, we walked to the other side of the market, to where my machinery shop was.

Cinderella's Little Mice. This town was a big relic of the Second era, and my shop's name was based off of some movies. I didn't have enough money to make a new sign, so Cinderella's Little Mice it stayed. It used to be a boutique, I would assume. There were fabric and thread everywhere until I cleared all of it out. These people here liked to keep as old fashioned as possible. I just took a marker and circled "ella'", and wrote "Best Mechanic in Town" below the pictures of little mice.

Sashi opened the door for me, and I thanked her. Inside, it smelled like oil and grease, and no wonder. I picked up a portscreen, without a camera, of course, and I studied it.

Ever since Levana's claim over Earth a year ago, all cameras and androids had been destroyed. Anything that glamour did not have an effect on had been burned, and shells killed. A girl named Cinder Linh had tried to usurp Levana, but had failed. I curse that girl every damned day.

Thankfully, Levana hasn't found our town yet, but I know it won't be long before she does.

Sashi came over to me, examining the hover magbelt in her hands. This is how it normally went. While I worked, Sashi kept talking, and I responded occasionally with grunts or a small laugh.

We worked for hours that way, until I heard a noise.

"Help! Help! Please, somebody! Help!" A masculine voice sounded from outside.

Sashi and I stopped whatever we were doing, and turned to face each other. Confused, we slowly faced the door. My head was pounding. Where had I heard that voice before?

I walked towards the door, careful to keep quiet. Although it was considerably hard with my crutches. Sashi followed behind me. I saw a man, no, barely 19, carry a girl of the same age. He had matted black hair and copper brown eyes, and he looked starved. The girl had bright red hair and wore a red hoodie like my own. Her eyes were closed, and she was bleeding.

I opened the door, and the man whipped around. I hid with a small shriek, and he turned around again. I opened the door again, but this time more carefully. I grabbed a wrench from my back pocket and handed it to Sashi. At this time, you can never be too careful. I clutched my crutches, ready to poke somebody's eyeball out with it, and slowly walked outside. I was ready to take a break for it, when the man's shoulders tensed, and he whipped around.

His eyes wandered, then landed on us. Sashi's eyes were terrified as she tried to shrink herself to invisibility.

"Please, you have to help us." He pleaded. He laid the girl on the ground, placing his hands on the wound. I gasped when I saw it, a bullet wound grazing her side. I'm surprised she isn't dead.

His head lifted up. His eyes were desperate as he willed us to help.

"Please."

And I looked into his eyes, and saw that they were absolutely broken. His gorgeous copper eyes were red rimmed, and I could tell that he hasn't slept a wink for days, and a good night's sleep for even longer.

And then my will power crumbled.

"Sashi, comm Dr. Bade. Tell him that it's an emergency." I said urgently.

"But…"Sashi protested.

"Just do it." I said sharply. I saw the hurt in her eyes, and was about to apologize until I realized we had no time.

I walked the all of five meters there as fast as I could, and then kneeled down in front of the girl. The hood of my hoodie kept bothering me, so I pushed it back, and tied my hair in a simple pony tail. I pressed my hands on her bullet wound, hoping to staunch the remaining life force inside her somehow.

"Thank you." The stranger said, and I nodded my head slightly at that. I took the water pouch hanging off my neck and the pocket knife everyone carried around these days. I carefully cut off the red hoodie, stained by blood, and the green shirt under it too. I ripped off the hem of my pants, and soaked it in the lukewarm water.

I started scraping away the blood and grime, but didn't dare to touch the wound. That needed medical attention from Dr. Bade, and touching it could make it worse.

Sashi ran over here. "The emergency hover is on it's way." She told me, as I handed the water pouch over to her.

Sure enough, I heard the sirens of an emergency hover soon, and it was getting louder and louder.

Once it reached us, the medics lifted up the girl onto a stretcher. We told them that we'd meet them at the hospital. I forgot my painkillers there anyway.

Sashi stood up first, and then helped me stand up. I picked one crutch up, and she handed me the other. We stood there, waiting impatiently for the man to stand up. He was having difficulty. I could tell that he was malnourished and dehydrated, so I gave him the little remaining water from my pouch left and the fortune cookie from this morning. He drank and ate up quickly, and I wondered when the last time he ate was.

"My name's Ella." I blurted out suddenly, startling both he and myself. Sashi jumped at the sound. "My name's Ella," I repeated albeit more quietly and slowly, "And this is Sashi." Sashi waved and smiled halfheartedly. "What's your name?"

He looked at us for a minute, clearly deciding whether to trust us ir not. Then, deciding against his better judgement, he looked us in the eyes and nervously told us his name.

"You can call me Kai."

I hope you guys liked this, and I hope to see you again next time. Bye!

Love, Emma.