Rehabilitation

3

Quaritch opened his eyes slowly. When he opened his eyes, he saw the beaming face of his physical therapist Rajian. The colonel jumped, moving back towards the other side of the bed. The clone growled, catching his breath, his hand reaching up towards his chest, clutching tightly.

"Morning, Miles," Rajian stated. "It looks like your motor skills are functioning quite well! That's a good sign."

He started to scribble on his famous clipboard, beaming. Why was he so happy? What did he have to be happy about? Quaritch sighed, leaning forward on the bed. He rested his elbows on his arms, glancing slightly up at the male nurse. His moustache twitched. The Indian man grinned.

"Still don't want to talk?" he asked the clone.

Quaritch glanced up at the male nurse.

"I take that as a no," Rajian said.

He walked over to the monitors, jotting down the new numbers that formed. Quaritch gripped the sheets. His limbs were aching even more now. He reached up, massaging his shoulder blades. He then moved over to rub his stiff neck. In the corner, he noticed a wheelchair. He blinked, looking at the wheelchair. Rajian followed his gaze, and then smiled.

"Yeah, as you can guess, that's for you," the Indian nurse stated. "Since you can't walk, you must use a wheelchair."

Oh hell no, thought the clone. I don't want no Goddamn wheelchair.

He surely did not want a wheelchair. Quaritch did not want to feel weak. The clone growled, moving forward to swing his legs over the side of the bed. He used his upper body strength to push himself up. His arms trembled. Quaritch pushed himself up, his feet touching the cold hard floor. Rajian rushed over to the side of the bed where the clone was at.

"Whoa! Whoa! Buddy! What are ya doing?" the Indian man called. "You are not stable enough!"

Quaritch pushed away the male nurse. He did not want some damn doctor to tell him what he could do and what he could not do. He leaned forward, placing his hand on the wall in front of him. His hospital gown was open in the back, and his scared back was exposed. Rajian watched the undying determination that this clone had. Quaritch growled, standing up fully and proud. His feet were not used to the icy cold hospital floor, but he grew used to it. He just stood there, using the wall as his support. Rajian smiled.

"Yeah! Go!" he cried, his arms open. He threw his clipboard down in the bed. "C'mon. Let's see ya walk."

Quaritch smirked. He slowly rotated, his feet moving across the floor. He stumbled, but he moved closer to the wall. He did not want to give up—never give in. Rajian smiled, moving his hands, motioning him to follow.

"C'mon, let's see ya walk," the Indian man stated. "I know you can."

Quaritch smirked, eyeing the man in front of him. He glanced at his feet. He lifted up one slowly, and placed it forward. The clone's hand slid across the wall, still there to support him. Rajian reached out, but the clone slapped away his hands. The Indian man pulled back.

"Okay, okay," Rajian stated.

Quaritch walked forward, his movements slow. He was walking well. But then his legs gave out, and Rajian was there to catch the man. The male nurse chuckled, supporting the much stronger man. "You're getting better," he stated.

He slowly moved the clone back towards the bed, resting the clone down. Quaritch felt weak. Rajian pulled away, smiling. "Well, you're a tough one," he stated. "It makes sense. You are a soldier."

Quaritch pushed himself against his bed.

"You hungry?"

Quaritch glanced up, giving him a simple nod.

"Alright," he stated. The male nurse walked over to the wheelchair (Quaritch did not want to be in such a thing), and wheeled it over to the side of the bed. "I know you don't like this," Rajian stated. "But you're going to need to use this. But first you need to change."

Quaritch was so embarrassed. Rajian had to help him change. It was a blow to his male pride. He wore a plain white shirt and pants. The eating room was spacious and large. People, soldiers and scientists alike, stared at Quaritch. They were all told that he was a clone. All of them knew. And all of them could never breathe a word of it. Rajian and Quaritch ate alone in a corner.

"So, ya ready to talk?" the male nurse inquired.

Quaritch glanced up, lightly gripping his fork. He spiked through some lettuce pieces, picking it up to eat. Rajian sighed. "I guess not," he whispered, picking his cup up to drink from it.

There was a screeching sound of moving metal, and to the right of the table where Quaritch and Rajian sat, a window opened. Soon outer space greeted the humans that were inside of the large metal spacecraft. The clone was in awe of the great space. Quaritch grabbed the wheels of his wheelchair, and rolled over towards the glass window. He was amazed. Space was so grand and mighty. He saw the great gas planet and a smaller moon-like planet. Rajian walked over next to the clone.

"Beautiful, right?" he asked. He leaned over, pointing to the moon. "That is Pandora. That is the moon that we are going to. Do you remember Pandora?"

His memories flooded his brain. He remembered that the air was not breathable for humans. The planet was lush and grand. There were mighty trees that towered over the living creatures. The animals were odd—usually four-eyed and six-limbed. He remembered one feline-like with six legs, four eyes, and an elongated jaw. He remembered that it charged at him, and he had a machine gun, and he shot at it. It took a long while for him to kill it. Quaritch nodded his head.

"Ah, you do," Rajian stated. "I never been there. I always wanted to be there."

Quaritch glanced up at the male nurse. He blinked, reaching up to smooth out his hair. The clone's hand ran down his neck, rubbing his tense neck.

"C'mon, sir," Rajian called, grabbing the handles of the wheelchair. "Let's get back to the room."

Parker sat at his desk, gently fingering the piece of expensive mineral. Dr. Wolfe and Rajian stood before the rich man. The business man glanced up, his hand supporting his head. "So, how's the clone?" he asked, grabbing the unobtainium.

Rajian spoke first: "This is his second day and he's making progress."

Dr. Wolfe glanced through the clipboard's papers. "Rajian is correct," he stated. "According to his notes, Quaritch tried to walk today. And he walked before he fell. That means he will soon walk. Perhaps . . . he just might completely function by the end of this month."

Parker glanced up, his eyes and expression slightly bored. "So, he can walk soon?" he asked, rubbing his temples.

"Correct. Perhaps by the end of this week?" Rajian stated. "He's amazing. But, he en't talking."

Selfridge glanced up. "You mean he's a mute?" he asked. "He's going to be a damn mute!"

Dr. Wolfe shook his head. "No, by tomorrow, his brain that allows speech to be processed should kick in," he told the business man.

"Good," grumbled Selfridge. He stood up walking over to the window of his office. He had a full-view of the moon-planet Pandora. He chuckled darkly. "Those big blue savages thought they won?" He then scoffed. "We're better than them. We came back with better weapons, and we're not going to let them win."

Rajian swallowed. He did not like that the only reason the humans returned to the beautiful planet was to destroy it. Had they done enough damage to their own planet? The male nurse cleared his throat. "Well, I'm going to check up on him," he stated.

Parker nodded, waving his hand in dismissal. Rajian then left the larger, main office. Dr. Wolfe watched the man leave. The smaller man sighed. Selfridge smirked, staring intently at the beautiful moon of Pandora.

"Jake and his little monkey friends will pay."