The Machine - 6 - Awake
3 minute read
Cole woke up in a pool of sweat.
Eli was hovering above his bed.
Cole rubbed his eyes and saw Eli’s smiling face.
“How was it?” Eli asked.
“What the hell happened?”
“You were scanned, remember?”
Cole vaguely remembered being stuck in a glass box and covered in some weird liquid. His memory was hazy.
“That liquid? That was… the scan?”
Eli nodded.
Cole was back on his dirty mattress, but in clean clothes this time. The enforcer was pacing in the middle of the room. The explosion came back to him. The repairman. The large man. The gurney. Charged with murder. He remembered now. How could he forget?
“Are you going to tell me or not?” Eli grinned.
“I thought I was dead.”
Eli laughed. “Good news. You’re not. No internal damage either. You can get back out there as soon as security clears you.” He looked over his shoulder.
“They’ll be here any minute,” the enforcer stated.
“Great,” Eli muttered under his breath, before patting Cole’s shoulder and popping up. “I’ve got other patients to get to. As far as I’m concerned, you’re good to go.”
It was music to Cole’s ears. He wanted to get back as soon as possible. He probably still had 3 or more hours until his part needed to be fed again, if they were able to fix it, and he didn’t want someone else taking his spot. He had worked too hard to be pushed aside by some accident. And now being a guinea pig to whatever weird scan he had to endure, he deserved to be back out there. The only thing keeping him in bed was the giant enforcer still pacing up and down the room, in between the rows of beds. Nobody messed with enforcers and didn’t end up banished or gone in some fashion. If he was going to be trapped here, he may as well get some more rest out of it. He closed his eyes and tried to drown out the agonizing groans of others on their infirmary mattresses. When he had just figured out how to make it all sound like relaxing white noise, the door opened.
“I’m here for Cole.” It was a woman’s voice.
Cole sat up. The enforcer had stopped pacing and was now standing near the woman. They exchanged words, and the woman approached Cole, blue jacket flowing behind her.
“Cole?”
He nodded.
“I need to take you with me, immediately.”
He looked around. “Can’t we talk here?”
“No.” She said coldly before clearing her throat. “Let me re-phrase. You’re coming with me, now.” The loose gravel under her shoes squealed as she turned and headed for the door.
Cole barely had time to process what was happening. From the edge of the bed, he called out. “I was told I would be supervised here, in the infirmary.”
The woman stopped. She didn’t bother turning around, and instead raised a finger and the enforcer marched toward Cole. Gripping the mattress, he braced for whatever was about to come his way. In five large steps, the enforcer reached the bed, leaned down, and knocked Cole on his back. In one swift move, he kneeled on top of his chest and started choking him.
Cole gargled and coughed and spit trying to say anything that would help. Just as he thought he’d taken his last breath, the enforcer let up and Cole sucked in fresh air. He gasped and spat again. He grabbed his throat and tried to rub the pain away. “Fine.” His voice was barely audible.
The enforcer stood and flashed a thumbs up to the woman.
“Good,” she said.
Cole stood slowly, and followed her out the door.