Circuits and Synapses

by Harper Doyle

  The one constant person in Nadia’s life since coming to this horrid place had been Rebecca. She had been the one to show her around, the first person to be her friend. The only one she could confide in for nearly three years and even after meeting James she had still been the number one person in her life. Now she was gone, forever and was never going to come back. Nadia thought to herself, ‘how could she be gone in such a short time? Why did she have to go know? It was not her time.’

  James was not going to cry, Nadia had done enough for the both of them, and instead he fed the anger within himself. When they got out of this place, he and Nadia were going to take care of some business with the company. If it had not been for them none of them would be in the state they were in. Nadia would not have become a cold, stoic, killer. Rebecca and Michael would not be dead, and he would not have felt such anger. It was all the company’s fault and they would pay for it.

  After a few hours of solid crying Nadia finally fell asleep, drained from crying so much. James remained awake for a while longer dwelling in his thoughts of anger and revenge. What was the best way to get at the whole company in one fell swoop? For most of the night James thought of only that and nothing else. The morning brought dried tears and scowls. Nadia had made a pact with herself to not cry anymore and James looked over at Nadia.

  “I have a plan. I think you will find it worth while and satisfying.” That piqued Nadia’s interest and James spoke in low whispers his plan to take down the company and escape. Once free they would tell the world about what they had endure, what they had suffered. They would tell of the lives that had been lost, of Rebecca and of Michael.

  “But how are we going to get out of here? I have been working on trying to figure out how to escape but even after nearly three years I am no further ahead in finding a way out than before.” Nadia scowled and tried now to look at Rebecca’s empty bed. James tried to look around, as though the answer to their escape was merely pained on the wall somewhere.

  “I don’t know, I just know that we need to get out of here before we are either lost in the eternal darkness of this company or we die. And I don’t want to die here, I want to live out there, with you. I want to go back to life before, but more than anything I want people to know what happened here, what happened to Rebecca and Michael.” James was clenching his fists, his anger nearly to the boiling point. Then a door opened and revealed Elizabeth and a small team of doctors.

  “Alright you two, it is time for rehabilitation for your new arm to begin. You have been given enough time to heal properly so let’s get a move on.” With a small wave of her hand the team of doctors descended on Nadia and James. They poked and prodded and set about removing the IVs and other cords that would make getting out of bed difficult. All the while Elizabeth merely watched the two subjects with a harsh gaze. There was going to be no riff raff while she was in charge. Jack had been too rash and foolish when dealing with this partnership, which had been the reason why he had been injured by the girl. But now that Jack was recovering from his jump off the mental deep end, Elizabeth was in charge of the most progressive team in the company. Well that’s what they say, one man’s misfortune is another man’s fortune, or something like that.

  “Get up now, we are moving to the rehab room, but not the same one that you used before. That has no longer an acceptable room for working with you two.” Elizabeth started down the hall, her heels clicking loudly, her gait not showing any hesitation as she led them to their new rehab room. Nadia and James followed closely behind, still reeling from the news of their friends, as well as their talk of escape.

  “Now we are going to work on grip strength and mobility today. I want you to start by making a fist, as tightly as you can.” Elizabeth motioned for a doctor to enter and had him walk around to monitor their progress. There was no way Elizabeth was going to get too close to either of them and risk another situation like with Daniel. Nadia and James tried to work on the task, but beyond moving their fingers minimally there was no way that they were going to be able to form fists today. But part of Nadia knew that Elizabeth already knew that.

  “I can’t do it, there isn’t enough control from my mind to tell this arm what to do.” James panted out as he tried and concentrated as hard as he could. Elizabeth merely looked at him with an unamused expression.

  “Well if you can’t form a fist before we leave for the day, then no dinner for either of you.” Elizabeth didn’t even bat an eye as she laid down the rules for the exercises. Nadia grumbled at the blatant threat and Elizabeth fixed her Medusa stare on her.

  “Do you disagree with my methods Nadia? Well perhaps I should bring Jack back as your handler, instead of me. I’m sure his anger for you killing his closest friend and bodyguard has calmed down some. Oh, wait; this is Jack we are talking about. He will have a grudge against you for the rest of time, or until his death.” Still without a hint of emotion in her face Elizabeth went back to observing them from a distance. Nadia was fuming, but knew that Elizabeth was right. There was no way that Nadia would survive a day if Jack came back as her handler.

  After a few hours of concentration and effort Nadia and James were able to form very loose fists with their new arms. Getting the arms to move up and down was another matter since neither of them could even hold up their new limbs without some assistance. But since Nadia and James had completed the exercise, even if only barely, Elizabeth kept her word and didn’t withhold their food for the evening.

  “I expect tomorrow to have better progress. We don’t want to get any further behind in the schedule then we already are.” Without another word Elizabeth exited the room and closed the doors behind her. For a few, brief moments the silence hung heavy in the air. But then James opened his mouth.

  “I don’t know what is worse, having a threatening Elizabeth, or a crazy Jack, as a handler. Though in all honesty I wish that we didn’t have any handlers or have to rehab machine arms, but that is obviously not going to change anytime soon.” James sighed and flopped back onto his bed and closed his eyes.

  “I just want to be able to use this damn arm, and then the possibilities for escape become much easier. If we tried now then we would be severely handicapped because we can’t use one of our arms properly.” Nadia gave James a sidelong glance.

  “Ever the voice of reason, huh?” James tried to give Nadia a little smirk but it nearly died on his lips as he saw someone coming through the doors behind Nadia. Noticing that James was suddenly fearful of something behind her, Nadia turned around to see that Jack was leaning against the slightly opened door frame. For the briefest of moments Nadia felt the world freeze, as though everything was in slow motion and she could see everything clearly. Jack no longer was wearing his knee brace, but still needed some support and thus was holding onto a cane of some sort.

  “Well hello there my pretties. Long time no see.” A wide grin spread across Jack’s face, distorting his face more than it usually was. Nadia barely breathed as Jack stumbled his way over to them and leaned down onto Nadia’s hospital bed.

  “What do you want, Jack?” Nadia tried to keep her voice even as she averted her gaze from the terrifying figure looming over her. Because of the way that Jack as leaning against her bed it pinned Nadia’s flesh arm down, leaving her rather open and vulnerable. An uneasy feeling filled Nadia as Jack’s bad breath filled her nose, something definitely off as she could smell alcohol on his breath. Nadia desperately wanted to glance to James, but feared moving even a finger for fear of what Jack would do to her or James.

  “I’m just here checking up on the prized possessions of the company, wanted to make sure that you were progressing appropriately and all. Though, it would seem that everything is in fine order here.” Jack reached up and touched Nadia’s cheek softly which sent a tremor of fear coursing through her body.

  “Stop Jack.” She tried to sound as s
mall and innocent as she could, hoping that it would get through to Jack and make him stop whatever it was that he was doing. And for a brief second Jack paused and seemed hesitant as he thought over exactly what he was doing, but then a flash of rage filled his features

  “You should know your place girl!” Without any warning Jack slapped Nadia across the face. She was too stunned, though, to even realize what happened right away. But her mind had registered what happened and out of nowhere her machine arm, the one she could barely move that day, came flying across her and landed a punch squarely to Jack’s face. It sent him flying across the room and back against the doors he had entered from.

  “Insolent brat!” Jack raged and then he spat blood from his mouth where his lip and inner cheek were split from the punch he had received. Nadia was quaking in her bed, what had she just done? Her body was moving on its own again, and that more than anything caused her to be afraid. But then Jack was getting up from off the floor and a renewed sense of fear wormed its way back into her mind. She had an angry Jack on her hands, and even with her free machine arm the rest of her limbs were restrained to the hospital bed.

  “James?” Nadia gambled a look to her now only friend. He was pulling on his restraints trying to get free, but to no avail. He stopped for a moment and their eyes met, hers filled with confusion and his filled with concern.

  “I don’t know what to do Nadia. I can’t get out of these restraints.” James spoke but as he did he glanced back over Nadia’s shoulder and nodded with his head that Jack was on his way back over to Nadia. Whipping her head back around Nadia could see that Jack had indeed gotten up and was nearly back at her bedside. She pulled on her restraints with all she could, trying her hardest to break the bonds holding her in place. But it seemed like the harder she pulled the tighter the bonds became. Jack was practically on her, his cane lifted, as though to hit her with it. Nadia closed her eyes then knowing what was about to come. And boy did Jack come down on her, raining blows with his cane left and right. Somewhere in the distance Nadia could hear James yelling at Jack to stop. But, like Nadia, who could barely make out James’ voice, his pleas went unheard to Jack.

  “You are no longer worth the threat you pose to the company. Killing company employees and friends, injuring an important staff member and who knows what other atrocities you have committed? I am now taking things into my own hands and doing what the company should have done immediately following Daniel’s death. You are to be terminated, by me!” Jack was wailing on Nadia, who could barely take the pain and let out little whimpers of pain. Though she tried to keep silent and not give the sick man an ounce of satisfaction for the pain he was inflicting on her, she couldn’t help letting out cries when he unleashed a particularly brutal strike with his cane.

  “Stop Jack, I beg you stop! She doesn’t deserve it! You should have just left her alone and never have brought her here in the first place. Stop Jack, STOP!” James was yelling himself hoarse trying to get through to Jack and make him stop. But it was like yelling at a brick wall, absolutely no response whatsoever.

  Finally there was a sound coming from the hallway that stopped Jack mid swing of the cane. It was the clicking of heels on the floor and Jack knew exactly who was coming down that hallway. Quickly he gathered himself and stormed out of the room through the opposite doors. Scuffling his way along he was out of the room and halfway down the hall by the time that Elizabeth and a small team of guards entered the room where Nadia and James were.

  “He went down that hallway not two minutes ago. Hurry after him!” James tried to shout but his voice came out a hoarse whisper. But Elizabeth had heard him and nodded to a guard to follow Jack down the hallway. Then a team of doctors entered the room and got to work assessing Nadia’s injuries.

  “Well it doesn’t seem like any bones were broken, though her organs have certainly received a heavy blow, there may be some internal damage. We need to get her to an operating table now and go in there to assess the full damage and repair what we can.” The head doctor spoke as he continued to look over Nadia’s beaten body.

  “Alright, get a move on. And while you are in there you might as well install the shield. Kill two birds with one stone. Now get a move on!” Elizabeth shouted as the team of doctors sped the hospital bed out of the room and down the hall to an operating room. James just sat there in his bed, still reeling from what had just happened.

  “How did Jack get here? I thought he was no longer our handler.” James spoke quietly. Elizabeth glanced over at him, as though she had forgotten that he was there.

  “He was very unstable after Daniel died, they were as close as brothers, so he took it very hard. We were dealing with that, and he seemed to be doing better so we let him take a walk around. Obviously that didn’t turn out like we had thought. But I assure you that he will be properly dealt with this time. There shouldn’t be any more unwelcomed visits in the future.” Elizabeth finished and made for the door, to get back to her work and to check on the progress of Nadia’s surgery.

  “What did you mean by shield installation anyway?” James questioned. Elizabeth let out a small sigh.

  “It is a reinforced protection sheet that covers the remaining internal organs of the chest and abdomen, it acts almost like a built in bullet proof vest, but better. Though usually this procedure it done towards the end of the process. But don’t worry you will have the exact same surgery now as well. We must keep you both on the same page. Doctors!” Elizabeth yelled and another team of doctors bustled through the door to come and claim James for his own shield installation surgery. James was a little caught off guard with the sudden operation ahead of him. Feeling a little bit panicked James pulled on his restraints slightly, but a doctor noticed and injected him with a sedative. In an instant he was out.

  The next thing they know Nadia and James are coming out of a hazy sleep. There is a deep aching pain in their chests and abdomen. Nadia lets out a small whimper and that snaps James out of his hazy stupor almost instantly.

  “Nadia? Are you ok?” James calls out. He tries to sit up but both the pain and the restraints keep him on his back. He can hear a slight shuffling of bed sheets as no doubt Nadia also tried to sit up to see James. But then a soft flop indicates that she too found the pain and restraints impeded her ability to do so.

  “I feel like a truck hit me.” Nadia manages to get out. “And you?”

  “About the same, though I would say that more than just being hit by a truck I would say they backed up and ran over me again. Though, I think that is due to the shield installation thing.” Nadia tried to breathe in deeply only to be stopped by the pain.

  “So what, are we bulletproof now or something?” Nadia grumbled.

  “Something like that.” James supplied.

  “Great.” Nadia breathed out.

  The next few days both James and Nadia were confined to their backs, but were told that they were still expected to work on rehabbing their new machine arms. They were given stress balls to work on their grips, which ended up being very helpful. It was nearly a week later that the sure sound of Elizabeth’s heels could be heard coming down the hallway.

  “I guess that means our vacation is over now, huh?” James teased. Nadia just sighed and rolled her eyes. And sure enough not two seconds later Elizabeth came striding into the room.

  “Alright you two, playtime is over. We need to get back to work on rehabbing those arms or we will never make the schedule. Up and at ‘um, let’s get to work.” Nadia and James both pushed themselves out of their hospital beds as the nurses undid their restraints. Moving rather slowly since their most recent operation had left them tender in the core of their bodies, Elizabeth urged them to pick up the place to get to the rehab room.

  “Now, we are going to pick up where we left off, though your grip strength and accuracy should be greatly impro
ved with all that practice time. Now, get to it, work on lifting and moving your arm.” Nadia looked down at the machine arm, still hesitant since it had acted on its own to hit Jack. But when she tried to move it of her own free will she found that it was just as difficult as before to make it do what she wanted. So it was just a fluke then, Nadia thought to herself. For whatever reason that thought seemed to calm her mind of the fear that had been clouding it since the incident.

  While in the rehab regime of the day James had been able to use his arm enough to lift the stress ball that he had been given for grip work up to chest height and even managed to give it a little throw. His face was shining with pride and Nadia couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. With a little work she too was able to make decent progress on her arm’s functionality.

  The next several weeks passed in very much the same way, rehabbing their arm’s to improve usage and strength. During that time both James and Nadia had regained near full control and use of their machine arms. It had been a tough job though, tougher than when they had worked with their legs. In addition to gaining control over their arms Nadia and James had to deal with the slow healing process that was the result of the expedited timetable as well as the unplanned shield installation ahead of time. But then, after weeks of just working on control and usage, it was time to work on combat with their new machine part. Nadia had been dreading and fearing the day they would start combat training again.

  “I am afraid.” Nadia whispered barely loud enough for James to hear. But with his enhanced ears he picked it up just fine. He looked at Nadia.

  “Don’t worry, it won’t be like last time. You know about the voices and what they are trying to tell you to do. You don’t have to listen to them, and Jack wouldn’t be there trying to rile you up or vent his anger on you. It is not going to be anything like last time, I promise.” James gave her a reassuring smile, trying to put her at ease and it worked slightly. Though Nadia was still nervous about the whole thing, James was right, the circumstances were completely different from last time. That, and if they wanted to escape it would be beneficial to know how to fight, if they had to do so to get out.