Out of Darkness - Chapter 5

by DethKlaire

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Brendon Small is a god. 'Nuff said.

Gratitude: Huge thanks to my excellent Beta Reader, and partner in crime, the lovely YvetteD!

Notes: My first story. Not yet complete, but I consider these first 6 sections to be "Part 1"
I am not a doctor or a scientist, so sorry if some of the medical / technical stuff is off…
I love Charles. Therefore I challenge him.

Warnings: Some strong language… but seriously, it's Metalocalypse, what did you expect? ;)

Hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think!


Charles had to admit, he did enjoy the singer's company on the walk. The Gear at his side was careful and effective as a guide, but not much for conversation, while Nathan seemed content to narrate their route and make small talk, even with little or no reply from Charles. It may have been annoying under different circumstances, but Charles appreciated the narration, and tried to maintain a mental image of where they were. His attention was split between this and the double-task of following alongside the guard while simultaneously attempting to feel out the area in front of him with the cane, as described to him by the occupational therapist. Several times he managed to trip up his guide, as he swung the cane too far over into the guard's path. Once Nathan almost snapped it, as he walked right into another errant swing. Charles managed to stop himself from yelling at the larger man, knowing that this was a new experience for all of them. Eventually Charles knew he would develop a style and rhythm to the use of the cane, and those around him would become accustomed to accommodating it. But that reality felt a long way off. It was the longest walk Charles could remember ever taking. He was very relieved as they rounded the last corner and Nathan announced that the door to his office was in sight. Upon reaching the door, Charles felt briefly along the wall for the wall-mounted scanner, found it fairly easily, and placed his palm against the device to have it scanned. Once a positive ID was established, the lock on the door clicked open. Charles turned to his entourage.

"Thank you gentlemen. I'll take it from here."

"I'll be waiting here when you're ready to leave, Sire," the guard said dutifully.

"That won't be necessary. I will call for someone if I need to," Charles replied, partly to save Nathan from feeling like he had to guard the guard, and partly because he had no intention of leaving after the meeting was over. This little part of Mordhaus was his world, and he intended to get reacquainted with it.

...

The meeting was productive and eye-opening. His engineering and medical staff, along with a representative from his occupational therapy team definitely had some intriguing ideas in terms of adaptive technology. Part of him wasn't surprised- if they could create robotic eyes for Dick Knubler, and robotic arms for Dr. Twinkletits he was hopeful they could come up with something that would be able to assist him. But he also knew his situation was different. His eyes were relatively fine. It was his optic nerve that had been destroyed- the link between his eyes and his brain. Charles, for the most part, found himself just listening and contributing an occasional opinion when it was asked for. It was not how he typically participated in meetings, but then he had never been to a meeting like this before. Tomorrow he would have another meeting- this time with the band.

...