“So glad to have you here. I've missed very few folks back in Egypt, but you were one of them.” Lucie smiles. The smile looks as if she never learned how to do it properly and feels awkward whenever she does.
“I'm very missable,” Farouk chuckles.
“Who is this?” She motions her head toward me without actually looking. I get nervous and stiffen up. They both begin to walk. I follow behind them.
I try to listen in on their conversation, but I can't make out every word. Farouk tells her how I was injured and how he kept me alive so that he could monitor any potential changes in me. He tells her how I've been a little more curious about my surroundings. He's only telling her part of the truth, and hasn't mentioned how Atom saved me. I feel more aware than curious. She seems skeptical but doesn't object. Farouk tells her that he wants me to have my room not far from his. That I should be integrated into the drones here. She then asks him why all the conditions and why bother with the research. He responds that after the Ragnarok, there is a strong chance that a lot of the drones will survive. Farouk wants to know how us drones will react and what we will do after.
Is that the only reason I’m here? So that Farouk can study me? At least there is a chance that I will survive. There is a chance that others will survive. This gives me hope. It shouldn't be an issue; the Ragnarok should not happen, but if it does, not all will be lost. That hasn't changed my mind about leaving, though. I still won't help.
We turn down another hallway and Lucie stops. She looks at me and then to Farouk. “There are a couple of rooms in this corridor.”
“Perfect.” Farouk smiles at her.
“He can have this room.” She opens the door to the room.
Farouk pushes me forward and into the room. “There you go, kid.”
“Thank you,” escapes my mouth. Farouk smiles, but Lucie scowls at me. She doesn't like me. Not that I care. She won't have to deal with me once I'm gone.
“Just hang tight. I'll come and talk to you later.” He shuts the door as he faces Lucie. “Where can I get some…”
I stare at the door for a couple of seconds until I can hear that they have left. As much as I want to throw it open and run out, I know that now is not the time. I'll wait until it's nighttime, when Farouk and most everyone else will be asleep. I step back and look at my surroundings. There is a small table with some of those books that Atom had in his room at the compound. I don't know what they say. The middle of the room has a bed, which looks fantastic after sleeping on the dungeon's floor.
I slide myself on top of the blankets and am hugged by softness. My body relaxes into the contours and thanks me by making me shiver.
If my body is to be ready for whatever lies outside of this structure, this stadium, then it needs to rest. It doesn't take a lot of convincing for me to fall asleep.
The darkness breaks when I'm in the middle of the field where the Fly landed. It's quiet, but when I look around, I see that thousands of drones are sitting around the stadium's inside walls, all the way to the top. The silence makes me uneasy.
Words come out of my mouth: “I am 80.”
Every drone surrounding me stands up and screams. The booming sound scares my eyes open, and I'm back in the cloud-like bed. I don't know what these visions I keep having in my sleep are, but they feel so real. Each one of them has had me standing in front of thousands of drones. I don't know what that's supposed to mean.
I sit up and decide that I can no longer be here even if night hasn't come yet.
Looking around, I don't see anything that I could use as a weapon if I needed to. The leg of the table catches my attention, so I get up and push the books off. The table is heavy since it is solid metal, but I manage to flip it over. A set of nuts and screws hold each leg to the tabletop.
I attempt to unscrew the bolt to one leg, but it's on too tight. After trying the other three, I settle on one leg and begin to shake it back and forth to loosen it up. My hands bleed as I alternate between twisting the bolt and shaking the leg. Sweat rolls from my brow to the corners of my mouth. The saltiness reminds my stomach that I haven't eaten in a while. I push through the ache in my stomach and the pain in my hands, and finally get the bolt off.
The leg is now free and in my hand. I fall back onto the bed to catch my breath and regroup my thoughts. The skin has shredded around my fingers. They would have killed me for this injury back at the compound in Egypt. Easier for them to create a replacement than mend me.
Anger rises through my body, masking the hunger and pain. It's now or never!
I stand and head to the door. The second I open it, Farouk's giant hand smacks my chest. I take a swing with the table leg, but his other hand blocks the attack, and he rips the leg from my grasp. With one quick motion, his leg comes up to meet my stomach, and he kicks me back onto the bed. Air struggles to enter and leave my body, and I curl up.
Farouk slams the door behind him. When I look up, I see
