Love, War, and Androids

part eleven: medical prison

"Kianko!" I shouted snapping out of my dream.

I looked around. I was in a hospital bed.

"No. No, no no no no," I said rubbing my temples,"I lost her again,"

I did not know why I was in a hospital bed, but I was hungry and there was a fridge on the opposite side of the room, so that's where I wanted to be.

I shook my head, to get rid of the grogginess and was about to get up when Jean pulled back the curtain.

"Who is Kianko?" She asked me.

"How did you know about her?" I asked, trying to rub away the headache I had just received.

Jean crossed her arms,"You were talking about her in your sleep,"

"uhh..." I started.

Uh oh. This is bad. I was told not to talk about Kianko, lest the program malfunction, and both of us doomed.

"No one..." I finished.

"She seemed pretty important in your dream, Jared," she said, pushing the subject.

This was not going to end well.

Jake had warned me about this. He had told me that this was going to happen. Something about the system breaking down and alien rubber chickens, no... I made up that part. But let's assume that I didn't...

I tried to stall.

"Fried chicken," I said, it being the first thing that popped into my head.

Jean looked at me in wonderment. Wow... wonderment sounds cool.

"What?" She asked, completely caught off guard.

"Fried chicken..." I said completely impromptu,"tastes good... when you have... just brushed your teeth..."

Needless to say, this is not going well.

"Oookay..." Jean said, dumbfounded. (Which is also a cool word.),"someone is still a little woozy. Would-you-like-some-fried-chicken?" She said this last bit like she was talking to a preschooler.

I thought... then I thought again. On the one hand I really wanted fried chicken... I was starved and I just like fried chicken... On the other, I really wanted her to leave so that I could run away, and raid the fridge. But, I really wanted fried chicken... did I mention that?

"Yes," I said.

"Oookay, I will be right back then," she said.

I waited for the door to close, then jumped out of bed.

Unfortunately I could not jump very well being that I was tired and possibly had irreparable damage done to my brain, causing my head not to tell my legs that it wanted them to move.

Imagine falling on your face. That is what happened. Generally, when you fall tiny little microscopic organisms called cells, tell your body that it is in pain. My cells were telling me that I had just hurt my other cells in my head.

I heaved myself up and looked around the room.

I got to my feet and got my things. I put on my gauntlets and I was about to open the door when the knob started to turn itself.

I searched around the room and got my ring on just in time to smash my hands through the walls as I climbed to the ceiling.

Good thing too, it was Jean. I gulped as I looked at the golden fried chicken with hungry eyes. Then the ceiling started to crack.

"Uh-oh," I whispered.

I crashed down to the floor with a sickening thud.

"Ow," I thought,"That hurt,"

Jean looked at me as though I was an insane lunatic.

Maybe I am.

Probably I will be before the end of this.

Fried Chicken.

"Jared," she said, cautiously approaching,"Jared, honey I brought the fried chicken,"

My stomach rumbled at the word fried. Then it roared at the word chicken. Then it got mad because the word chicken was not immediately followed with the words 'with mashed potatoes and gravy.'

"With mashed potatoes and gravy," she said.

"Okay," my stomach thought,"I am content,"

I turned over, angry that my escape attempt was foiled, yet satisfied with the fact that I would now get chicken, but more importantly, with mashed potatoes and gravy.

"Jean," I said as I poked at the potatoes with my fork,"Jean, have you ever actually been in love?"

Jean looked at me.

"Yes, Jared. What do you think it is I feel for you?" Jean responded.

"Well, not to offend you or anything, but I love someone else," I said.

Here it comes, I plugged up my ears, waiting for the impending Apocalypse.

"Well, then, Jared, is it Kianko?" Jean said, stabbing her mashed potatoes.

I had a feeling that I was the mashed potatoes.

Then the potatoes attacked.

"What on earth?" Jean said as the potatoes, well, grabbed the fork.

Within five seconds I realized what this means.

The corruption has begun.