The Machine - 4 - Caretakers
3 minute read
"I-I-I didn't do anything." Cole stammered.
The large man barreled forward, past Cole, to the hole in the machine. "Well how'd this hole get here?"
"It just... blew up."
The large man spun around. "By itself?"
Cole stood up and shrugged. "It's old, I don't know what to tell you."
The large man grabbed a notebook from his pocket and flipped through a few pages. "Cole?"
Cole nodded.
"Says here you have a near perfect accident rate."
Cole kept nodding.
"Hm." The man spun around again and inspected the machine part with his flashlight. "I'll check it out with the enforcer's logs, too."
Cole's eyes widened. "Yeah, he called it in."
The man turned his inspection to the rest of the room. "Gross stuff, huh, this fuel? Hate it." He spit on the ground. "You alright?"
"I think so."
The large man spit on the ground again, and then looked past Cole to the doorway and signaled something with his hands. Two smaller men came running in with a gurney. "Protocol," the large man said. "Lay down."
Cole waved off the men. "I'm fine," he said.
The large man took a step forward. "I said, lay down. It's protocol."
Cole was tired and decided not to fight it. Plus, protocol was king. It's what kept the machine running, and it's what he had to adhere to now. He tried to wipe more fuel off himself before taking a seat on the gurney. "What's going to happen to this part?" Cole asked the large man, who was now back at the hole and inspecting it again.
"We'll swap it out," he said.
The countdown clock had been disintegrated in the blast, but according to Cole's internal clock, this part had to be fed again in just over 5 and a half hours. "Will it be ready... in time?"
The large man looked back. "That's not your concern."
"It's my part, what do you mean it's not my concern?" He said, sitting on the edge of the gurney, still being held up by the two men.
"Look," the large man said, approaching Cole. "You don't need to worry about that, okay? All you need to do is head back to the infirmary with these two gentlemen, and do what the caretakers tell you to do, okay?"
Cole had dealt with caretakers before, and always laughed at their name. They didn't so much care for you and your wellbeing so much as they cared for you to be back on the floor shoveling. His incidents had been smaller; turf toe, raw hands, blown out knee. He wasn't sure what they'd do for this, which he only assumed was a concussion and maybe some bruising. All in all, he had gotten pretty lucky.
"Fine." He knew there was no point in arguing much about anything. He was weak, and tired, and he had to follow protocol anyway.
"Wait!" The large man shouted. He scurried over to the wall and shined his flashlight against the ground. "Is this your enforcer?"
Cole hesitated. "Yes."
"Fuck. I thought he left to get help." He signaled again to the two men holding the gurney. "Hold on." He held the flashlight in his mouth while he dug around again in his pockets. When his hands appeared, they were holding handcuffs. He approached Cole and the men. "Cole, I am hereby detaining you on behalf of the security group. You will be detained while under supervision of the caretakers." He snapped the handcuffs around Cole's slimy, fuel-covered wrist.
Cole wriggled and tried to pull back. The two men supporting the gurney nudged him forward toward the large man, who was able to grab Cole's other wrist and slap the second cuff on and tighten it until it was uncomfortable to move further.
"What?!" Cole exclaimed. "Why?"
"Sorry," the large man said. "We can't have a murderer roaming free."