'Food' ended up being military ration packets - Hillary said something about constant nutritional information or something along those lines. All told, it wasn't bad, but I missed my Dad's cooking. Maybe I should have had some more of that cake before I left. I wondered if my parents had figured out about this illegal operation yet. I knew they would have tried to contact me, and not being able to would certainly put them on edge. They could have the entire state looking for me by now... I hoped not. Illegal or not, I still wanted to walk out of this myself.
I stayed in that little curtained room for the rest of the day. I couldn't exactly leave. Kasey and a boy named Joseph came in to play cards at one point, which we spent a couple of hours doing. Joseph was a shorter boy with stubbier features, with brown hair similar to my own. Parts of his neck and chest were bandaged, with metal fixtures implanted in his shoulders. He winced as he moved his arms to reach for the cards, but when asked about it, he brushed it off.
That evening, after the others had left, someone else opened the curtain and entered the room, flanked by a soldier. It was the presenter from my birthday party, though it took me a second to realize this because he was dressed in military camo instead of a tailored suit. "How are you doing, Shilo?"
I sat up, not needing the blanket now that I was dressed again. "I wish someone would tell me things. Such as, why there is a bandage on my back and metal in my legs?"
The man smirked. "Straight to the point, eh kid?" The soldier handed him a clipboard, which he flipped through quickly. "In your legs, there are nodes that connect to your muscular-skeletal system. The robotics will connect to these in order to support you and read your electrical impulses... that means it helps you to control the components with your mind."
"Yeah, I got that part." I'm not that stupid; I can read between the lines. "That makes sense I guess, but I wish someone would have told me before knocking me out." I winced as I leaned forward a bit, my hand immediately going to the edge of the bandage on my back. The numbing was starting to wear off. Maybe I should take some of those pills. "What about back here? What did your surgeon do there? There's nothing wrong with my back."
"Oh, don't worry about that," the man dismissed. "The components need to hook a bit higher up for stability, and to maximize the odds we'll get a good read on your nerve signals. Especially with your disease interfering with these."
I supposed this sort of made sense. But I didn't like someone messing with something that didn't need fixing. "Why is it more bandaged than my legs?"
"We used strong clotting agents and surgical glues on your legs. But your spinal cord needs more time to heal, so it will be sore for a while." He took notes on something in pen, and the scribbling was soon the only sound in the room for over a minute or two.
I had to ask. "So when do I get to start walking?"
He looked up. "You know, I knew we picked the right person with you. Most people would complain about everything rather than show interest in the project. You are very mature for your age. Tomorrow morning, we'll try the components. Our robotics teams are still working on the last few pieces. But it might take a bit for you to get the hang of it. Understand?"
I nodded. I never trusted it when adults called teenagers mature; I've heard it from teachers before, only when a student does a good job of following instructions or seeing things the way the adult does. It felt more like butter on bread than a genuine compliment. "You mean it'll hurt, right?" He hesitated before nodding. "I get that. I've been to plenty of doctors and there's nothing that doesn't hurt. I'm ready for it."
He smiled. "Good to hear it. We'll have you on your feet in no time." The soldier pulled the curtain closed again after they left. Listening to make sure their footsteps retreated. I eyed the floor cautiously. I grabbed ahold of the edges of the cot, biting down on my lip as my grip tightened and I lifted myself up from the cot. I turned my butt towards the edge, then carefully swung my legs over the side. After taking a slow, steeling breath, I lowered myself to the ground. Pain shot up from the nodules in my legs, and I went ahead and reached into the crate for the pills. I downed two of them with a bottle of water.
Then, I inched over to the edge of the room and lifted the edge of the curtain to see what was beyond it. The hangar was much larger than I had expected... there were several different trucks, and giant mechanical equipment set up on the far end, including a few very large saws. Up high on the wall, large trusses held up a very large, partially built robot. Impressive; this was a technology company alright. But, it still felt weird that they would have human test subjects here in a hanger, rather than in a more medical environment. If they're involved in sketchy activity, though, maybe that could be the reason. No one would expect medical experiments to take place in a place like this.
I felt bad for Kasey and her brother. I had chosen to come here and my parents allowed a temporary custody change, but Kasey had been left in this situation under worse circumstances. She and some of the others probably didn't want to be here. However, I knew I couldn't do anything about that. If I said something or protested on their behalf, who knew what might happen to me? I might not get my legs, and then, how was I going to help anyone? Plus, there were heavily armed soldiers everywhere. Fighting right now would be foolish.
I dropped the curtain and managed to climb back into the bed with some difficulty. I was so exhausted by the time I did, partly from the medication starting to kick in, that I fell asleep not long afterward.
The next morning, I was awoken by the many sounds of machinery that reverberated through the hangar. I put my head under the pillow, but it didn't do much. I was unfortunately awake. I spent much of the next two hours staring at the ceiling or carefully fingering the nodules in my legs. They were small, and while some felt like they were going into bone, others were simply in the skin and moved as I did. While fingering one of them for a minute or so, a small stream of blood started to trickle from it, adding to the menagerie of small stains covering the sheets. After this, I resisted the urge to pick at any of them.
At some time during the day, several scientists came in with a briefcase, which they set down on a fold-out chair. "Is that...?"
"It's a prototype," one of them, a woman, said as she removed several components from the case. She spoke in a very no-nonsense manner. "Hang your legs off the side and take your shorts off."
I complied, though I was uncomfortable doing so. She and another scientist reached for the bandage on my lower back, removing it. I grit my teeth. "Ow ow ow..." They didn't respond to this. I couldn't see what they were doing, but it sounded like they were adjusting something.
"Lift him up."
Two soldiers were on either side, lifting me by the arms and shoulders until I was in a standing position. I could feel my bare feet on the ground. Maybe, I could support myself part of the way on a good day, but not with the ache in my back. It was just bearable as it was without messing with it.
The scientists took several components from the briefcase. I was excited until I saw that a couple of them had sharp metal prong-like projections on them, and as they carried them closer, I could tell that the prongs would end up going into my back. "Wait wait, what are those sharp parts for?" No one answered. I instantly started sweating and panting as the question grew more urgent. "Wait! Someone explain it to me first!" I started to squirm away, but lifting my legs strained my back, and my weight was fully supported by two very strong soldiers. It was a futile endeavor.
They carried the components around to my backside, feeling where the nodules were located. Please don't, I begged in my thoughts, too scared to say it aloud. Please don't do this.
Something jabbed into the nodules on my back like a plug into an outlet. Pain shot up my spine, and I cried out. They connected the other pieces into place, circling my pelvis, securely held in place by the nodules and sensors in my lower back and upper legs. The parts were heavy, pulling on my spine like barbells. I didn't know what to do but hang there and try not to start crying.
After taking several notes, the female scientist pulled out a remote and activated the device.
The components separated, starting to spread down my legs. It reminded me of Iron Man's suit, spreading downward like armor. At first, it was a strange feeling, almost satisfying as the initial pieces shifted into their intended shape. But, as it continued to move downwards, locking onto each nodule as a focal point, each one felt like jabs causing throbbing aches in my bones. This wasn't like a shot or a scrape; the pain burned from every point on my legs as the components shifted, all the way down to my toes. When it was over, tears were streaming down my cheeks.
"Okay, now set him down slowly."
They lowered me onto my feet again. My weight slowly transferred onto them, and while I didn't immediately collapse, I could feel the device pulling on my frame through the nodes. It felt like someone was tugging my muscles out of my leg in each spot at the same time. "Please stop! It hurts..." I felt childish for complaining about it. I wanted to be able to stand again, so why was I refusing to try? I had come into this expecting it to hurt so I shouldn't be overwhelmed that it did. But I was, and the pain had a spectacular way of making me change my mind.
"Okay, slow down a bit, keep supporting him where he is and let him stand here for a bit."
The pain stopped getting worse, but it still ached where it was. I wasn't unsteady on my feet; I didn't even try to move them, but I wasn't falling over. Maybe it would get better. Everyone hurt the first time they tried a prosthetic on, so why should this be any different? I stood there for maybe ten or so minutes. I was grateful the soldiers continued to support some of my weight, as I could barely hold it together as it was and it didn't get any easier as the minutes ticked by. Part of the way through, my curiosity got the better of me and I looked down at the armor. It really did remind me of Iron man, but there was something - almost alien about it.
"Okay, that's enough." She deactivated the device, and the legs began to condense back up to their original shape. It hurt the same as it did going down, but this time, I was ready for it. The more it transformed, the more of the metal pieces on my legs became visible, and many of them were bleeding. I could feel the metal prongs leave the nodules on my back and gasped from the strange feeling.
They put the bloodied mechanical devices back in the briefcase and laid me back on the cot. Someone returned a short time later to clean the blood off and bandage the worst places, including my back. I tried to lay on my side to ease the pain, but with very little relief.
