Young Offender, Part 63:
Pyunma awoke and took a deep breath. He sat up slowly and shook his dizzy head. He slid off the hospital bed and was handed a red uniform and a yellow scarf by a doctor named Gaia.
"Put these on. There will be a test."
"Test?" was all he could managed because of this dry, swollen tongue. "Water?"
The doctor that handed him the uniform busted out laughing. "Oh, you'll have plenty water in a few minutes. Get dressed."
Pyunma pulled the clothes on and followed Doctor Gaia from the laboratory. They went down the long hallway. Gaia opened one of the doors with a security card swipe. Pyunma was amazed at the huge water tank in the room hooked up to a computer bank.
"Hop in," Gaia ordered. Pyunma climbed a scaffolding on the side of the tank and slipped in. The water was warm and pleasant. Suddenly a thick sheet of metal slid over the top of the tank, trapping Pyunma under the water. Pyunma panicked and slammed his fists against it, holding his breath. He thrashed around and his mouth opened against his will. Seconds of shock passed when Pyunma realized he wasn't drowning. His lungs, somehow, processed the water painlessly.
He turned and swam to the edge of the tank, gliding through the water with more agility and speed than he ever had. He watched Gaia at the controls. He could see the gage Gaia was monitoring was labeled pressure. The numbers increased gradually. Pyunma noticed the temperature was sinking, but not uncomfortably. He knocked on the tank's glass. Gaia ignored him as the pressure grew.
Gradually, Pyunma's skin tingled painfully and his lungs felt too strained to work. His vision began to grow dark. Before he sank to the bottom of the tank, the pressure and temperature eased off. Pyunma swam to the surface when the steal sheet rolled off the top of the tank.
"What was that?" Pyunma dragged himself out of the tank and onto the scaffolding.
"I wanted to see your limits. After we altered you."
"Altered?"
"Remember, you agreed to serve us. You can't do your number one task without being altered."
Pyunma's memory was too foggy. After he was brought to Ghost Island they put him in a deep sleep. "How is it now that I'm able to understand what you're saying?"
Gaia held up a tiny black box. "This is implanted in your brain. It translates the words directly into your brain. I have one myself. Really handy and harmless. Now that that's finished, it's time for you to meet your companions."
"Companions?"
"Yes. Three others that will assist you on your most important task."
Pyunma followed Gaia out of the room and further into the complex. "What is this task?"
"We'll discuss it later. Now it's time for you to meet the other members of your team." Gaia took the security card and swiped it at another doorway. It lead to a large hanger bay that was open to the outdoors. Pyunma could see the lush island forest outside, but something to the left caught his eyes: three other people dressed in red and yellow uniforms like him.
They looked equally exhausted and seemed very silent. Gaia lead Pyunma over to them. "This is 005, 006, and 007." In turned he pointed at a ruddy skinned giant, a portly Chinese man, and an older, bald man. Gaia then waved his hand at Pyunma's nose. "This is 008. So, why don't you get acquainted. Walk around Ghost Island and get to know each other. Learn to work as a team while you get to know your improved bodies."
With that, Gaia swirled on his heels and left Pyunma with these strangers. He turned back to the men and said, "Well, I could use a walk to shake off this stiffness. My name is Pyunma Dwambee, by the way."
"Well... I go by Great Britain," the bald man introduced himself with a large smile. "This chap is Chang Ko, and I'm not sure what his name is. I was just about to ask."
"Geronimo Junior, but you can call me Junior," the giant of a man replied softly.
"How about a walk then?" Pyunma suggested.
"You don't have to ask me twice. I maybe an urban dweller, but I'm starting to feel cagey," Great Britain said, stretching his arms into the air.
"Do you remember how long we've been here, Great Britain?" Pyunma asked as they turned and walked towards the door of the hanger bay. He realized they all had the same translation devices implanted in their heads as well.
"Three months, and you can just call me GB."
Pyunma gasped and turned to the older man. "That long?"
"Well that's what I gleaned from the conversation I overheard."
"Incredible," Pyunma said, stunned at losing so much time.
"So what brings you here?" the short, rotund Chinese man asked.
"My village needed guns to protect us from a local warlord. In return for two years of my time they provided weapons for defense. And you?"
"I was in a reeducation camp on a false accusation that I insulted Chairman Mao," Chang explained.
"Ah, you were a political prisoner, too. So was my father," Pyunma said, feeling a wave of sympathy for the man.
The lush forest stretched out before them. They made their way around mossy logs and vine covered trees.
"Very beautiful," Junior said stoically, taking in the scenery. A log blocked their path, so Junior bent down, picked it up, and tossed it aside as if were nothing. Pyunma's jaw dropped open at the display of strength.
"You're stronger than you look... and that's saying a lot," GB muttered, looking after the log.
"It's how I'm altered," he replied. "They enhanced my strength."
"So how did you end up here?" GB asked the large, ruddy skinned man.
"I was about to lose my land. They saved it and helped get some people from my tribe jobs. Respectable work is hard to find for a Navajo."
"And how about you?" Pyunma asked GB.
"My daughter needed heart surgery. They were able to help her. I figured two years of my time is more than worth it to save her life. Maybe after that time I can patch things up with her mother. Maybe even marry the old girl this time around."
Pyunma caught the implication. In his village a man was automatically married to any woman that gave him a child. If the man didn't act like a husband to his new wife, then the man was cast out of the village. Women had a strong authority about family matters in Mwanba and didn't suffer fickle men. As a matter of fact, one of the upsides of being away from his village was not having his mother and sisters picking out a wife for him or nag him about getting married.
GB speaking casually about the mother of his child gave Pyunma a feeling that the different customs and traditions from their cultures would take some time to blend, just like getting used to the ability to hear the words of different languages and have total understanding.
"I think I hear the ocean." Pyunma mused.
"I'll go see," GB offered. Then the man's body morphed into a sea gull. GB took off into the air, leaving his red uniform behind.
"Did you see that?" Pyunma asked Chang. It was like the myths his parents told him about when he was a child. This modern world was pure magic in Pyunma's eyes.
"Yes, I saw him do something like that right before you came. He can change his form at will. It's quite amazing. His bones are a super rubber, as is his skin. It's very impressive."
"Amazing," Pyunma agreed. "What about you?"
With that Chang deeply inhaled and blew a bright fiery cloud at a tree. It burned to a blackened cinder. Chang then crossed his arms and said, "Pretty impressive, too, I think."
Pyunma broke out into a smile when GB swooped down and morphed into a man. He quickly threw his uniform on again. "It's a few meters from here. This way."
They made their way to the beach. Pyunma laughed and jogged to the ocean. He dove under the waves heedless of the others. He glided through the water, reveling in his changed body, so light and quick. He'd be the best warrior in all of Mwanba. His parents would be extremely proud. He felt as though he could chase off Umbaba and his army all by him self.
Before he surfaced he noticed black balls with spikes chained to the ocean floor. He swam back to the beach, the other three watching him as he exited the surf.
"Well, this island is certainly secure. I think I saw mines out there. Seems strange. These scientists must be threatened all the time."
"That was my impression," Junior said, pointing to a tower in the distance. At the top was a guard and a teenage girl. She was watching them carefully. Pyunma could swear the girl's eyes glowed a bright green.
Pyunma turned back to the others and asked, "Is it me or is everyone else hungry?"
"Famished," GB said with a dramatic flair, waving his hand in the air.
"Oh! I hope they let me cook. I haven't used proper ingredients in ages," Chang said, clasping his meaty hands together and rubbing them vigorously.
"You cook? It sure looks like you cook well," GB teased and poked a finger at Chang's stomach.
"I was famous for my food. Let's go and I'll show you."
"That was amazing food," GB said, rubbing his bloated stomach as he leaned back in his chair.
"Yes, I've never eaten anything like that before. It was quite good," Pyunma agreed.
"Thank you, thank you. It's my greatest joy to cook," Chang said, picking up the empty dishes from the cafeteria's table. Junior stood and helped the Chinese man take the dishes to the kitchen.
"So what do you think?" GB asked, leaning on the table with crossed arms.
"About this place?" Pyunma asked.
Pyunma looked around the cafeteria that was meant for two hundred people, but they were the only ones in it. He then gazed out of a window and could see that the night had crept up while they ate. He then looked down at the plain blue hospital scrubs they were given to wear when not training. Not uncomfortable, but a little too sterile for Pyunma's taste. "I think it'll be fine once we train. And it already seems they have some task they want us to do. That'll pass the time nicely."
"You know, it seems strange. All this generosity. I guess I need to stop second guessing myself," GB said in a softer voice.
"I know what you mean." Pyunma said, in a whisper. He then sat up straighter and called out, "Chang, Junior, we'll get the dormitory ready."
Pyunma stood and lead GB down the hallway after Chang and Junior gave him acknowledging waves. GB tapped Pyunma's shoulder. "Didn't Dr Gaia say it was to the left?"
"I thought he said right." Pyunma followed GB down the left hallway. GB opened the door of the first room they came to and flipped on the light.
Pyunma was taken aback by a strong oder in the room: bleach. His eyes lingered over the hasty paint job. Under the white paint were faint traces of what appeared to be writing of some sort. He recognized a few shaky English words from the Christian missionaries that had educated him. The vast majority was in a language he didn't know.
"Wow, someone knows some every foul words in German," GB said, examining it. "Sure doesn't know grammar for anything. Sure doesn't have any penmanship, either."
Pyunma looked around the room's furniture. Two beds across from each other were unkempt, two were made. There was a filing cabinet and desk. The desk had stacks of paper. Pyunma went over and rifled through the papers. Almost all were filled with the same messy scrawl that GB pronounced to be German and then he noted some scrawl in French.
But then Puynma found another note. The handwriting was much neater. "GB, what's this say? It looks like a letter?"
"Let's see... it's in German, too... it says... Dear Gianni Alessandro... Everybody makes mistakes, and I take all of your pain as my responsibility. I didn't think things could go so horribly wrong for all of us. My own desire to leave the three of you, the same desire running rampant through our little 'family,' caused me to be reckless and cause irreparable and horrific harm to you. Looking at you... your face and the atrocious exhibition they have made it... is a reminder of my recklessness. My recklessness was the same with Hilda; it caused her death, but I'm not willing to be doomed to making these same tragic errors. I promise you, we'll find a way to be free again. I'm not sure what will happen with Ivan, but you and Francoise will be free again. I just ask that you keep your temper under control until I can figure out how to free us. It only makes this situation worse on us all. Also, be very careful and keep yourself safe for my sake, if not your own. I can't stand the idea of loss... Yours, Albert." GB held the letter at a distance and turned to Pyunma with an odd look on his face. "That's a strange letter."
"Indeed," Pyunma said. There were steps coming from the hallway. GB quickly grabbed more papers, along with the letter, and stashed them under his hospital scrubs. They started when Doctor Uranus appeared at the doorway.
"What are you two doing in this room?"
"We were on our way to the dormitory," GB said. Pyunma admired how the man didn't look nervous in the least. His ability to lie was perfect. "I think you were right, Pyunma. It was to the right. Sorry, my fault."
"Well leave this dormitory alone! We should have burned it to the ground!" Uranus shouted, obviously agitated. Pyunma didn't wait for the man to order them again. He jogged back down the hallway with GB in tow. They got to the correct dormitory. This one was immaculate.
Chang and Junior were already there, making the four beds. "Where have you two been?" Chang asked.
"Exploring a little," GB answered. He made sure the door was shut and sat on a bed. He slyly drew the papers out from his scrubs. "I have the feeling there is something they don't want us to know. I wonder who these Gianni and Albert fellows are. I love a good mystery."
"Let me know what you find," Pyunma requested. Chang dimmed the light, except by GB's bed. Everyone else, save GB, turned in.
To be continued.