Post by acclue lockheart on Mar 4, 2008 22:48:09 GMT -5
Chapter III: Vega
Having no concept for the passage of time relative to any of the old units, Tommy could only believe that he'd been in transit for 'awhile'. In reality, his passage from the extermination chamber took only a few hours. He heard a lot of machinery running around him, a wonderous sound to Tommy because he had spent his whole life around quiet energy, rather than loud mechanical, devices.
He wanted to ask the human soldiers chattering away around him where they were going, but the most he could manage was a loud whining noise, to which the men simply said "Shut up." and continued talking amongst eachother.
Tommy could only tell what direction he moved in, and if not for the inherent patience a person earned from being imprisoned for his whole life, he might have gone insane with anticipation. Being blind was an annoyance, but nothing to panic over in his situation. The queen's venom caused the effect itself, and as soon as it was neutralized, he'd get his sight back. Tommy recalled feeling the same way when he was being transported from Terra District with his mother a long time ago. They used it to keep them in line when moving, and just as Tommy had accepted his blindness, they shot him up with a syringe of something and he could see and move again in seconds.
What did worry him was the gaping hole in his chest. He didn't feel it, but he knew it was there. Did these men have enough meds to keep him alive? Since he was still breathing, he guessed they must.
Excitement and contented relief soon emerged on Tommy's face. He couldn't believe the timely entrance of the resistance, and their quick dispatch of the Pheder. His freedom seemed unreal.
"Alright, we're almost there." one of the men finally said "Don't worry kid, Doctor Vega'll fix you up nice."
Who was this Vega they kept mentioning? Tommy had to thank the man for sending the rescue team.
Tommy felt himself get picked up again. He felt his consciousness beginning to slip away, but he held on with all of his will.
A few minutes later, he heard the soldier's voice again "Doc!"
Some shifting noises "Damnit Cecil, I said no kids... and look at him, his blood isn't even red anymore."
"Well how was I supposed to tell that?" The ability to see in the full spectrum of colors had been lost in the human gene pool long ago, the Pheder prefering to have subjects that could see in their new dark environment. The addition of night vision destroyed the humans' ability to see beyond black and white. "Check his I.D."
More subtle movement "Oh God."
"Yeah."
Vega spoke quietly, but Tommy still heard"And you just found him lying around?"
"In the execution chamber."
There were quiet murmurs after that, but nothing comprehensible.
"Christ... Get me a shot of anti-venom."
Something clicked and a searing pain flew through Tommy's leg and was quickly overpowered by the massive gap in his chest. He cringed and rolled over, grabbing at his wound before a hand grabbed his "Careful, don't touch."
Tommy's vision slowly filled in the missing black spots, and the gray quickly followed. The speed of the antivenom was incredible.
He saw around him a small room with a frightening resemblance to the Pheder test chambers. He frantically looked about, ignoring the man that grabbed his hand. He was reliving a repressed memory of one of the times he'd been chosen for an experimental proceedure. He grabbed at his neck with his free hand and whimpered quietly as his vocal organs were torn open, his trained tolerance for such pain wavering until he finally screamed out in what little noise his voicebox could manage "Ehn! Nehn nehe ehn!"
Vega and the other man, Cecil shot each other confused looks "Calm down kid!" Vega moved in front of the still screaming child, grabbed his other arm and shook Tommy once.
Snapping out of the brief trance, Tommy stared right into Vega's eyes. He muttered out his little noise and then looked disappointed for a moment.
Vega looked like a young adult man with light spiky hair and thick black goggles over his eyes. He could tell he was thin, perhaps malnourished, surprisingly a problem the prisoners wouldn't deal with, being injected daily with a solution of enough nutrients just to keep them alive. "Alright, can you understand me?"
Tommy nodded with a slow twitch in his head.
"Alright." he backed up a little, releasing Tommy's hand, which slowly moved to his wound, but stopped before it could touch the bloody hole.
"Alright, we're going to fix you up, can you talk?"
He shook his head.
"I figured as much." Vega sighed "Cecil, hold him down."
Tommy felt two hands coming down onto his shoulders and holding his arms down.
Vega produced a small plastic beaker with a thick dark liquid filled nearly to the rim.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, this is going to hurt like hell." Vega picked up the edges of Tommy's shirt and tore it wide open around the wound. There were a number of other scars and bruises around the hole, but Vega ignored the grotesquely ruined body through sheer force of will. The wound was completely dry thanks to the drugs they'd given him on the road, and miraculously, it didn't look like any of his internal organs were damaged.
That, or the ones that were supposed to be there weren't anymore...
Vega tipped the vial over and moved it around the rim of the wound "God I hope this works on alters."
the liquid poured into the walls of the wound. Tommy let out a little grunt and clenched his fist for a moment, but as the liquid dissipated into the wound, he was mostly silent. Vega's mouth opened slightly as he whispered something to himself, then he said "This... these are nanomeds... I've seen adults scream on skin contact with this stuff."
Cecil released Tommy's shoulders and said "Guess there's something to be said about their kind."
"Show him some respect." Vega said "He's been through a lot and... well, you know." he tried to whisper the last part.
"Yeah, whatever. It's not gonna make a difference soon." I heard a door close behind me and now Tommy was alone with Vega.
"Alright, the nanites should take care of things. You'll need to take the blood clotting like before, at least till the nanites close the hole." Vega turned to scribble something onto a piece of paper "You are incredibly lucky... Damn."
Puzzled at the abrupt change in Vega's mood, Tommy pushed against the chair and tried to sit up, straining to lift his heavily medicated body.
Vega turned and pushed him back into the chair "Careful. God knows how many bones you've broken. I don't. I'm not used to working on alters, and you can't even tell me everything they've done to you... Can you read or write?"
Of course, he had to shake his head. The Pheder were smart enough not to let any of their prisoners learn any skills beyond basic survival instincts. The rest was experience. Tommy had seen, he guessed, five words in his whole life.
Vega's arms dropped to his side, frustrated "Great, we're gonna have to screw you up more." he flipped the paper onto the cluttered desk in the corner "Okay, you'll need to rest here for a few days at least. You won't want to leave right now anyway, the moon's out. Probably brighter than you're used to."
Tommy couldn't believe what he'd just heard! The moon?! Not only was he escaped, but he was on the surface?! Tommy had always believed that he was so many kilometers underground that he would never manage to get to the surface.
He sprung from his chair, and, ignoring the searing pain in his chest, ran to the door, but Vega was faster. Tommy managed to pull the door open a crack and see a line of blinding white form on the floor before Vega slammed it closed with force.
“Don't do that!” he shouted, grabbing Tommy's hand and dragging him back onto the chair. He bent over to Tommy's level “Look, you've never even seen light in your life, and if you do now, you'll probably go blind for good! You have to wait for daytime, the Pheder's satellite'll stop you from seeing the sun.”
Tommy wasn't even sure what he meant by the sun. He had heard of the moon and how bright it was, but the sun was foreign to him. Now the boy was anxious. He hadn't realized how different the world outside of his nest was, and now he wanted to see everything. It hadn't struck him until that moment, but he was really free! There was so much he would want to see now. And for the first time since he was capable of conscious thought, he smiled.
Having no concept for the passage of time relative to any of the old units, Tommy could only believe that he'd been in transit for 'awhile'. In reality, his passage from the extermination chamber took only a few hours. He heard a lot of machinery running around him, a wonderous sound to Tommy because he had spent his whole life around quiet energy, rather than loud mechanical, devices.
He wanted to ask the human soldiers chattering away around him where they were going, but the most he could manage was a loud whining noise, to which the men simply said "Shut up." and continued talking amongst eachother.
Tommy could only tell what direction he moved in, and if not for the inherent patience a person earned from being imprisoned for his whole life, he might have gone insane with anticipation. Being blind was an annoyance, but nothing to panic over in his situation. The queen's venom caused the effect itself, and as soon as it was neutralized, he'd get his sight back. Tommy recalled feeling the same way when he was being transported from Terra District with his mother a long time ago. They used it to keep them in line when moving, and just as Tommy had accepted his blindness, they shot him up with a syringe of something and he could see and move again in seconds.
What did worry him was the gaping hole in his chest. He didn't feel it, but he knew it was there. Did these men have enough meds to keep him alive? Since he was still breathing, he guessed they must.
Excitement and contented relief soon emerged on Tommy's face. He couldn't believe the timely entrance of the resistance, and their quick dispatch of the Pheder. His freedom seemed unreal.
"Alright, we're almost there." one of the men finally said "Don't worry kid, Doctor Vega'll fix you up nice."
Who was this Vega they kept mentioning? Tommy had to thank the man for sending the rescue team.
Tommy felt himself get picked up again. He felt his consciousness beginning to slip away, but he held on with all of his will.
A few minutes later, he heard the soldier's voice again "Doc!"
Some shifting noises "Damnit Cecil, I said no kids... and look at him, his blood isn't even red anymore."
"Well how was I supposed to tell that?" The ability to see in the full spectrum of colors had been lost in the human gene pool long ago, the Pheder prefering to have subjects that could see in their new dark environment. The addition of night vision destroyed the humans' ability to see beyond black and white. "Check his I.D."
More subtle movement "Oh God."
"Yeah."
Vega spoke quietly, but Tommy still heard"And you just found him lying around?"
"In the execution chamber."
There were quiet murmurs after that, but nothing comprehensible.
"Christ... Get me a shot of anti-venom."
Something clicked and a searing pain flew through Tommy's leg and was quickly overpowered by the massive gap in his chest. He cringed and rolled over, grabbing at his wound before a hand grabbed his "Careful, don't touch."
Tommy's vision slowly filled in the missing black spots, and the gray quickly followed. The speed of the antivenom was incredible.
He saw around him a small room with a frightening resemblance to the Pheder test chambers. He frantically looked about, ignoring the man that grabbed his hand. He was reliving a repressed memory of one of the times he'd been chosen for an experimental proceedure. He grabbed at his neck with his free hand and whimpered quietly as his vocal organs were torn open, his trained tolerance for such pain wavering until he finally screamed out in what little noise his voicebox could manage "Ehn! Nehn nehe ehn!"
Vega and the other man, Cecil shot each other confused looks "Calm down kid!" Vega moved in front of the still screaming child, grabbed his other arm and shook Tommy once.
Snapping out of the brief trance, Tommy stared right into Vega's eyes. He muttered out his little noise and then looked disappointed for a moment.
Vega looked like a young adult man with light spiky hair and thick black goggles over his eyes. He could tell he was thin, perhaps malnourished, surprisingly a problem the prisoners wouldn't deal with, being injected daily with a solution of enough nutrients just to keep them alive. "Alright, can you understand me?"
Tommy nodded with a slow twitch in his head.
"Alright." he backed up a little, releasing Tommy's hand, which slowly moved to his wound, but stopped before it could touch the bloody hole.
"Alright, we're going to fix you up, can you talk?"
He shook his head.
"I figured as much." Vega sighed "Cecil, hold him down."
Tommy felt two hands coming down onto his shoulders and holding his arms down.
Vega produced a small plastic beaker with a thick dark liquid filled nearly to the rim.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, this is going to hurt like hell." Vega picked up the edges of Tommy's shirt and tore it wide open around the wound. There were a number of other scars and bruises around the hole, but Vega ignored the grotesquely ruined body through sheer force of will. The wound was completely dry thanks to the drugs they'd given him on the road, and miraculously, it didn't look like any of his internal organs were damaged.
That, or the ones that were supposed to be there weren't anymore...
Vega tipped the vial over and moved it around the rim of the wound "God I hope this works on alters."
the liquid poured into the walls of the wound. Tommy let out a little grunt and clenched his fist for a moment, but as the liquid dissipated into the wound, he was mostly silent. Vega's mouth opened slightly as he whispered something to himself, then he said "This... these are nanomeds... I've seen adults scream on skin contact with this stuff."
Cecil released Tommy's shoulders and said "Guess there's something to be said about their kind."
"Show him some respect." Vega said "He's been through a lot and... well, you know." he tried to whisper the last part.
"Yeah, whatever. It's not gonna make a difference soon." I heard a door close behind me and now Tommy was alone with Vega.
"Alright, the nanites should take care of things. You'll need to take the blood clotting like before, at least till the nanites close the hole." Vega turned to scribble something onto a piece of paper "You are incredibly lucky... Damn."
Puzzled at the abrupt change in Vega's mood, Tommy pushed against the chair and tried to sit up, straining to lift his heavily medicated body.
Vega turned and pushed him back into the chair "Careful. God knows how many bones you've broken. I don't. I'm not used to working on alters, and you can't even tell me everything they've done to you... Can you read or write?"
Of course, he had to shake his head. The Pheder were smart enough not to let any of their prisoners learn any skills beyond basic survival instincts. The rest was experience. Tommy had seen, he guessed, five words in his whole life.
Vega's arms dropped to his side, frustrated "Great, we're gonna have to screw you up more." he flipped the paper onto the cluttered desk in the corner "Okay, you'll need to rest here for a few days at least. You won't want to leave right now anyway, the moon's out. Probably brighter than you're used to."
Tommy couldn't believe what he'd just heard! The moon?! Not only was he escaped, but he was on the surface?! Tommy had always believed that he was so many kilometers underground that he would never manage to get to the surface.
He sprung from his chair, and, ignoring the searing pain in his chest, ran to the door, but Vega was faster. Tommy managed to pull the door open a crack and see a line of blinding white form on the floor before Vega slammed it closed with force.
“Don't do that!” he shouted, grabbing Tommy's hand and dragging him back onto the chair. He bent over to Tommy's level “Look, you've never even seen light in your life, and if you do now, you'll probably go blind for good! You have to wait for daytime, the Pheder's satellite'll stop you from seeing the sun.”
Tommy wasn't even sure what he meant by the sun. He had heard of the moon and how bright it was, but the sun was foreign to him. Now the boy was anxious. He hadn't realized how different the world outside of his nest was, and now he wanted to see everything. It hadn't struck him until that moment, but he was really free! There was so much he would want to see now. And for the first time since he was capable of conscious thought, he smiled.
