Crack in the Kill Code (AmpCore #2)

45 - Stocks in Souls

The clunk of metal feet against metal floors jerked Kirk from a restless sleep. His dreams swam in his mind for a few seconds, like emerging from beneath the waterline – glowing red eyes stared from the dark, boring through his skin and taking root in his bones. He dreamed of his body turning on him, limbs turning to metal, his brain warping and twisting until he couldn't control it.

Then he was was blinking into the tepid light of their subway hideout.

A dark shape moved unsteadily in his blurry vision. Wincing, he scrubbed at his eyes, trying to focus. Then he realised who was walking towards him and he jerked upright with a start, springing out of the chair.

"Woah, hey, Treysi – should you be...?" Sleep mashed his words into a jumble. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Are you alright? Are you okay to be walking around?"

She didn't answer straight away. Her steps were awkward and stilted, lacking the easy flow of a normal person. She looked around, eyes wide with a blend of fear and bafflement. Treysi folded her arms, hugging herself tight as she lurched towards him. At first she didn't say anything. She just stood there, leaning against the wall by his bunk.

"Treysi?" he ventured, edging a little closer and leaning down so he could see beneath the sweep of her curling hair.

"I... Beela didn't want me to go walking, but I just... I couldn't stay in that room any more."

A cold chill shot up Kirk's spine and he took a step back. "Where's Beela?"

"What?" Treysi straightened up and finally looked at him. "She's back in the operating room. Checking the equipment or some shit. What, you think I... you think I would actually...?!"

"No!" he blurted. "It's just, the thing in your head, it was making you do some crazy things."

"I remember." Her voice was suddenly small and she hugged herself even tighter. "I was so, so angry. It was all I could think about. I just wanted to find the corps and... and..." She trailed off with a shake of her head.

"Yeah. The blacktech – the gear those guys stuck into you," he explained, "it came with something a little extra that I reckon you didn't ask for."

Treysi nodded, still looked shell-shocked by the whole thing. "How'd you fix it?"

"I didn't." Rubbing his eyes, Kirk glanced at the holo clock above the bunk. It read 6.13am. "You hungry?"

"Shit, I am starved."

"C'mon. It's not exactly five-star but we've got the gear to rustle up a half-decent breakfast."

He started walking. The clunky tread behind him remained unsteady as he followed. He heard her hiss in pain and turned back around. Treysi stood, eyes narrow, looking at the floor with her teeth clenched. One leg seemed frozen in place.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, moving closer.

"I... I'm not sure." Her head twitched from side to side, and her right leg slowly began to bend at the knee, the talons of her new metal feet flexing. "I think my body is still trying to work all this out. Sometimes, I say walk and everything moves. Sometimes nothing happens. Sometimes half of me goes one way and the rest goes another."

"Sounds awful," Kirk replied truthfully. "Can I help?"

Her eyes flashed to him, still simmering with distrust, but she couldn't maintain it. Her legs spasmed without her consent. She nodded and stumped awkwardly around so he could take her flesh-and-blood arm across his shoulders. He felt her lean muscle as she anchored herself in place.