His Synthetic Pulse

Chapter Six

John.

John.

Is that the name of my dead self? No, the boy I was modelled after? Does this blood stained guy in front of me believe that I am his dead friend.

Yes, definitely. Or the tears streaming his face and leaving marks in the blood on his face would mean something entirely different.

Maybe it did, Dirk was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor behind me. 

"Dave," He wheezed, struggling to pull himself up. Dave. The boy that was staring at me, open-mouthed and speechless was Dave. Dirk's brother. The one that had taken away by the scientists in the Cellar. The boy jerked forward, round shades tearing away from me and to his brother. 

"Dave, help me up." 

"Bro. Bro, what the fuck." 

Dave doesn't move. In fact, he barely seems to acknowledge that Dirk has been hurt. I turn, using my still-intact arm as an anchor for my scientist to hold on to. He takes it gratefully, hobbling up. His hunch almost makes him as short as me. 

"We need to get out of here." Dirk's voice was still strangled and hoarse, and my sensors indicated a great deal of pain. I kept my voice soft and low, as his emotions were still slightly unnerving and tense.

"Dirk, you're hurt. We can't go anywhere." Whispering, I did my best to support Dirk with my arms, holding him steady. His balance wavered, but eventually he stood himself up.

"Dave, did they do anything to you? Why are you bloody?"

"What the fuck, Bro." Dave motions to me, his hand clutching the long sword bleached white. I flinch at the angry gesture. The tears were more prominent. They were because of me. "What part of resting in fucking peace don't you understand?" 

My scientist sighs, turning to me lightly. I do my best to look unaffected. I am a robot, I have no emotions. Dirk ignores Dave entirely, who looks close to yelling. "What happened to your hand, John?"

John. There it is again. Dirk says it so openly now, as if the moment I know it's my name it's open for use. It sounds foreign to my ears, like a different language. A word I don't know how to respond to. I stuttered slightly before answering.

"D-defibrillation." I began quickly. "Your heart stopped! I had to get it going again!" 

"So you rip off your hand? Glad to see you didn't make it as smart." Dave hisses from within the door frame. My jaw tightens, and I look away. 

"Dave." Dirk's voice grows tense chastising his brother who just crosses his arms and scoffs. He turns back to me. "You thought to use loose wires within your endoskeleton?" My scientist inquired, bending to the ground and picking up the empty shell that was once my hand. I noted how strange it looked, sitting in the porcelain flesh of my scientist's palm. It reflected the light from the flickering ceiling light, completely smooth and plastic. I bet the rest of me looked like that. Synthetic and fake.

I nodded silently, unable to look Dirk in the eye.

"What happened, Dave? Do you know?" Dirk had adapted a serious tone, the question sounding more like an order for answers.

"My guess is a rebel attack. That's probably what the quake was. Set off some sorta' alarm down here and all the robots went batshit." Dave explained, remaining in his position against the door. His lips upturned in some sort of a chilling smirk. "Better watch your back, or it might lose it too." Dave turned, motioning for us to follow. "Maybe you might know how to stop it this time, since you obviously couldn't do it before."