Alive
A fan fiction in progress by
Bryan Harrison
Pt9
David tried to chew slowly; the way Dr Chen had shown him. He knew he could get sick and throw-up again and he didn't want to repeat that particular experience. But he was so hungry that the second sandwich Martin had bought him was disappearing as fast as the first
Martin had finally stopped pacing and was now sitting on the bench beside David, watching him intently. His looked of stunned disbelief had finally dissipated to be replaced by a dark skepticism. David knew Martin did not believe him, but was too consumed in his long overdue meal to care. Todd and the others were on the court pretending to be immersed in skating. But David knew they were watching everything. They kept glancing over. Martin had shooed them away when they tried to approach and they'd retreated only after he threatened "grievous bodily harm". Only Todd was undaunted by these words. Of all the boys there, only he was larger than Martin and only he remembered Martin's birthday party… the day he'd met the little Mecha boy by the pool; the day his calloused actions had set in motion the events that led to David's abandonment. But Todd kept his distance out of respect, or perhaps guilt. Or possibly the nagging certainty that Martin was talking to someone whose existence defied the very laws of nature.
Martin let out a long sigh, as if whatever mental calculations he'd been going through had exhausted him. "Ok, let's go through this thing again," he said, interlocking his fingers and biting his lower lip nervously. "You're …I mean, you believe that you were a Mecha that used to belong to my-"
David waved his arm to interrupt Martin. He swallowed quickly. "I am David!" he said. "I mean, I was … I mean… I don't know how to say it. I was Mecha and now I am real."
Martin guffawed and rose to his feet. "Look, kid that's…. It's just not effing possible! OK! So drop it!" He was pacing again, wringing his hands and shooting quick glances at David. His skeptical expression was turning to anger. David had seen that look before.
"Remember the night you sent me to cut Mommy's hair?" The words seemed to sting Martin. His gaze froze on David. It was unreadable. David had only meant to prove himself with these words, to speak of something that only he and Martin could know. But there was an accusation in his voice that he had not intended.
Or had he?
Later he would not know.
He continued, knowing he was saying all the wrong things, but unable to stop himself.
"You tricked me! You sent me there to…to," he was getting too emotional, he knew it. He stopped and took a deep breath to compose himself. It didn't really work. "You knew what was going to happen, Martin. And you knew that I didn't understand. I could have hurt her! I almost cut her eye! Why? Why did you do that?"
But Martin didn't seem to hear the question. A new light had come into his eyes. He turned and pointed an accusing finger at David. "You met it didn't you!" he said.
"What?"
"You met the Mecha when it ran away. Maybe you were in the woods… or maybe you were at Rouge City. Yeah!" His voice was rising as he spoke; growing more excited as he felt he had finally come upon an explanation. "And … and you met the Mecha and it told you all this stuff about me and Mom and … and that's why you know so much! Dammit! I knew there had to be a reason. It's the only way that…" but his words stopped when his train of thought crashed into an impassable barrier of logic. His gaze turned dark again and he plopped down on the bench, shoulders slumped, defeat in his face.
"Noooo," he moaned. "That's stupid. Dammit! None of it makes sense!" He placed his head in his hands, groaning. "This isn't happening," he muttered to himself.
The hoverboards had grown quiet. David knew Martin's friends were watching, wondering what was going on between them. Only Todd would have even the slightest idea. But David did not return their looks and didn't care what, if anything, was going on in Todd's mind.
He knew he couldn't continue his accusations. It would only send Martin into another rage and that would entirely defeat his purpose. He had to try a softer approach. He thought hard, trying to plot a course through this complex maze of human emotions. After a minute of introspection, it came to him.
"The man at the hospital said I was gone for two years," David said. His tone was soft now, vulnerable. Martin glanced out from behind his hands. His brows were pinched but there was curiosity in his eyes. David returned his look and shrugged as if perplexed. "How'd you … how'd you get so big so fast?"
Martin's expression didn't change. There was an empty moment when his reaction could go either way. But finally the boy lifted his head up and laughed. David smiled and laughed too. It was the best sound he had heard all day.
"Oh, man. I must be crazy for talking to you," Martin said. He breathed a moment as if undecided on how to continue. Then he chuckled. But there was something sad in the sound. "Well, it got real crazy after you…" he shot another undecided look at David, then continued. "… after you left. Mom was a mess. She blamed everyone for everything. Joined some class action suit against Cybertronics. But it didn't go anywhere and she…" Martin stopped there. His mouth worked silently on something he wasn't ready to say. As much as he wanted to know, David knew better than to press him. Finally Martin continued down a different path.
"I started growing really fast. Frazy said that I would-"
"Frazy?"
"Uh, Doc Frazier. He's the guy who took over my case when I was still under the ice. Anyway, he said I would start to catch up with my age once the cryo-prep stuff wore off, and he wasn't BS'ing. I must have picked up damned near a foot in a year. And man, it hurt!" Martin grimaced at uncomfortable memories. "I had to take so many pain killers that Dad was worried about me getting hooked and took me to one of those brain places... where they use harmonics on your pain centers. That worked pretty good. Got rid of most of the pills anyway. But after a year or so the pain started going away and I was …" he sat up and spread his arms. "…like this."
"Wow. You look great," David said, knowing it sounded fake, but feeling he should make some type of acknowledgment. Martin seemed satisfied and folded back into himself.
"I still get back aches now and then, but Frazy said that's pretty much normal. It'll go on like that for a few years but I'll be OK." Martin fell silent then, his gaze set on the ground at his feet.
Somehow David knew he shouldn't ask about Mommy; that Martin would talk about her when he was ready. "And Henry?" he asked instead.
Martin looked up suddenly, as if he'd dozed off and forgotten where he was; who he was with. "Oh…. Well, Dad's cool. Same old guy he's always been. He was a bit crazy the first year, fretting over me all the time… you know, until I got better and everything. Wouldn't even let me get near the pool, not after that crap at the party!" Martin laughed at this but David looked away. Martin noticed his discomfort and stopped laughing. A quiet moment went by. In an unspoken agreement they decided that matter was best left to the past.
"Well, then Dad finally chilled a bit... when I get better that is. He's still with Cybertronics and everything. That lawsuit crap put a lot of strain on things. But he and Mom worked it out somehow. But she never really got over…" Martin fell silent again. He dropped his head and he started kneading his fingers again. He was mumbling something that David could not make out.
David had to know. "What Martin? Tell me."
The change was instantaneous, unexpected. David couldn't have seen it coming. Martin stood, imposing in his painfully won stature; his face now twisted and unsympathetic.
"What in the hell are you?" he yelled. "Why in the hell did you come back?" He stopped himself and shook his head like he was trying to wring the thoughts out of his brain. "No! No! No!" he yelled. "This is effing BS man! It's impossible. You aren't real. You're some kind of freak!"
"No, Martin," David said patiently. "It's all true. I'm-" But he didn't have time to finish this thought.
Martin was suddenly on David, his hands holding the boy's collar tight, his face pressed so close that his breath was hot on David's face. This wasn't the same boy who had just bought David sandwiches from the vending machine; who had just shared the painful details of his recovery. This was the other Martin; the one who had tricked him into cutting Mommy's hair, the one whose mind had been twisted by jealousy and hate when he'd come home to find he had been replaced by a machine.
"You want to know about Mom? OK, I'll tell you, freak. You almost drove her crazy! She went on and on about you…. About how she betrayed you; about how she couldn't let them kill you so she left you in the forest! She kept going back looking for you for months!. She'd leave in the middle of the night and stay out til morning, driving all the way to Haddonfield and Shadow Creek, up and down the Delaware, looking for you! She'd come back crying and dirty from walking through the woods. Dad had to get her a doctor. They had to drug her to keep her from hurting herself! Dad finally got her to stop looking for you and then she started taking it all out on Cybertronics! She'd start yelling at Dad, saying it was all Hobby's fault for trying to play God! She wanted Dad to quit! They almost got a divorce. And it was all because of you!"
The words ripped into David's mind, coursed through his body and embedded in his heart. He wanted to tell Martin to stop, that he knew it was all spiteful lies; that he was only jealous because David had returned to take his place by Mommy's side. But he couldn't move. He couldn't breath. He could only gaze with horrified eyes as Martin's vengeance was unleashed.
"Dad even tried to get her another one of you fakes! That's how desperate he was! He was actually going to buy one for her because he thought it would bring her back to sanity.! But she actually said it wasn't you! As if you were actually a real-"
"Play nice!"
The mechanical voice broke Martin from his rage. He turned to see Teddy waddling towards them, his little arms raised to ward Martin off. Martin's brow wrinkled and he shook his head slowly. It was too much like before. "No, this is too unreal. This is…"
"Martin!"
It was Todd this time. Martin looked over to see his friend gesturing towards something behind them. David noticed the gesture too and they both turned to see a man approaching from the direction of the silent cul de sac. They could hear him as he came closer.
"Hey, you kids! Leave that vag alone! Go on now before I call the police! I'll do it! Believe me!"
Martin let go of David's collar, realizing how it must have looked. Teddy had arrived now, and his mechanical voice was added to the mix as he scolded and insisted that this manner of play was unacceptable. Martin's face was lost, indecisive for a moment. Then he looked down on David and new resolve grew in his features. He reached into his pocket and David had a moment of fearful anticipation before Martin pulled out a wallet. He thumbed through it and hissed.
"Todd!"
Todd ran over. "Hey, let's get out of here, Marty. That guy looks pissed."
"Gimme some newbucks." Martin ordered.
"What?"
"Whatever you got on you."
"What? For him? No way! What the…"
"Give me the money!" The rage in Martin's voice silenced Todd. After a quiet moment he pulled out a leather pouch and emptied it into Martin hands.
The man was moving slower now that Martin had let go of David, but he was still coming. Still yelling. "What're you kids doing? Is that a little boy? You let that boy go!"
Martin reached down and tucked the wad of NewBucks into David's hand. "You heard the man," Martin said. "It's time to go. You got nuff money there for a while. Get on out of here." Then he pushed his chest up and the look in his eyes said he meant business. "And don't ever come back," he added.
Todd's eyes roamed quickly between Martin and David and the angry man that was slowly approaching. "Soooo… it's really him?" he asked, his eyes finally settling on David.
"No." Martin replied quickly, resolutely. "He's just some kind of stupid vag con artist."
"Then why you giving him money? My money?"
Martin didn't answer. He had no answer. His eyes were set coldly on David. "Go on," he repeated.
"Martin, please." David didn't want to cry; didn't want to sound pathetic and desperate. But his dream was collapsing right before his eyes. Everything he had come back for was being washed away. His voice was choked and tears began to flow. "Martin, please don't send me away. Pleeeease. I want to see her! Just once. I need to. It's the only reason I-"
"Hey kid!" the man was closer now, close enough that he didn't have to yell to be heard. "Why you crying? What're those boys doing?" he asked. "I'm calling the police."
Martin's grimace turned into a smirk. "You heard the man, David. He's calling the police. Aren't they looking for you? You'd better run. Ya think?"
David wanted to plea, to crawl on his knees and beg, but he knew it would do no good. If the police came, and he was caught by the man named Greig, or Jeff or Frank or whatever the hell his real name was, then he'd never see the light of day again. If he ran now, he'd be free to try again. The cold logic of this made it's way through the heat of his emotions and he stood and wiped his face.
Another feeling was growing inside him as he returned Martin's hard stare. It was not desperate. It was not sad. It was something new. Something cold... and dark.
He grabbed Teddy up and started backing away towards the forest. He would hide there, he decided, long enough to hatch the plan that was already forming in the back of his mind.
The intervening man was standing a few yards away. He was on his cell, talking to someone. David couldn't make out the words, but he could guess that the man was describing a dirty little vagabond child that was running back into the trees. The police would be on their way. Maybe the CLA. He turned and began to run.
In moments he was making his way through the fence and into the lush woods. He turned once more to see that Martin was still staring at him. He returned the hard gaze for a moment before he slipped into the shadows of the trees.
"We'll meet again," he whispered to no one, sensing that the new dark emotion inside him might grow into something dangerous… and knowing there was probably no other way to achieve his goal.
(cont...)