Of Man and Metal (Transformers Prime)

Chapter 4

I tried the device again that afternoon after the bleeding has stopped. It wasn't much different than the first time. I stood for twice as long, still with help, and it was just as excruciating. When it was over, I bled almost as much. Afterward, I was too exhausted to do much of anything.  I spent much of that evening and the next morning trying to hold back any cries of discomfort, afraid it might unsettle someone or make me seem like a wimp in front of the others.  I wasn't new to suffering.  I could take it, and at least this time, it was productive suffering.  But the exhaustion slowly waned as the wounds on my legs scabbed over, and the pain was replaced with an ever-growing sense of boredom.  I was tired of the curtained cubicle I was stuck in. Despite normally keeping to myself, I was willing to break that habit if only to have some distraction from the throbbing in my back and the constant buzz of machinery. "Hey! Is anyone there? Kasey?"

I heard some shuffling, and after a few seconds, the curtain opened. Kasey stood there a moment, her eyes puffy and tears streaming down. "Are you okay?" I asked. She ran over and sat next to the cot, pulling her legs close to her chest. She started crying worse. I sat up, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, what happened?"

She sniffled. "They took Kaden!" I had learned by now that this was her brother's name. "They took him hours ago and he's not back yet."

"I'm sure he's alright, okay? He's coming back." I tried to reassure her, though I had no idea if what I was saying was true or not. "They're probably just putting those sensors on him." 'Sensors' sounded better than 'Implanted metal'.

Kacey shook her head. "They didn't do that last time they took him, but he had a bad headache when he came back. And last week, they took someone away and they didn't come back."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. Of course she was worried: it was her brother. I didn't even know Kaden but I was already worried on his behalf.  Any sort of doubt that he was well was sure to hit like an emotional gut punch.  "You can wait with me until he gets back.  He's sure to be back soon."  I thought for a moment... whenever I was worried about something, I tried to distract myself.  "Is there anything else to do here for fun, while we wait?"

She sniffed and nodded, wiping tears off her face.  "Yes.  There's an old tv on the other side of these rooms."

Hmm... this would require getting there first.  That would be a problem.  But, I wanted to be with Kasey if something went wrong, and there was little we could do in here that was sufficiently distracting.  "...Do... do you think you could help me there?"

"I thought you can't walk?"

"I can't really," I said.  This was probably a mistake.  Even if I could take a couple of steps on a good day, I was still recovering from surgery on my legs, and my back was killing me.  "But I can go a little ways if I have help."

"Okay."  She stood up.  "I can help you there." 

I shifted so I was sitting on the edge of the cot with my bare feet on the concrete floor.  You can do this, Shilo.  Don't look weak in front of the middle schooler.  "Okay, so if you're on the side, I can put my arm on your shoulders and lean on you a bit."

She got into position and slowly pulled me up to standing.  My legs shook under me and I was already a bit dizzy, but there was no giving up now.  "You okay?"

I nodded.  "Let's go slow."  Step by step, leaning a lot on Kacey, I made it to the curtain and out into a sort of hallway between the different curtained cubicles.  I counted five on each side.  One side led to the central part of the hangar and the mechanical equipment.  Several soldiers stood guard.  The other side led to the corner area with doors to a few off, and an old couch, a table, a few folding chairs, and an old tv balanced on top of a bare, waist-high bookshelf.  The furniture all looked like it had been picked up from a curb.  Unfortunately, I was in one of the farthest rooms, and still had quite a few steps to go to make it there.