Kennedy Hoss of Musket

Prologue

I twist this way and that in front of the mirror so that I can get a good look at my forearm. The doctors had explained to me that I'd be farsighted for a few hours after the procedure, meaning it was luckily temporary but extremely annoying.

I hold my left arm out still, then make a fist and move it forward and backward. As my skin moves, I see the edges of a rectangular shape just beneath the skin on my wrist. Then I hear a small beeping sound and my veins light up red. I wrap a thick black Velcro bracelet around the battery so that it can charge.

I look up at my own face in the mirror and examine my skin. The color is beginning to drain back, and I rub my pink cheeks with much gratitude.

Today is the one month anniversary of me being plague-free. I was tired of being so weak. After I had gotten it, my muscles had shrunken and became weaker, and every time I moved my bones and joints would make cracking and popping sounds. I shuddered at the memory.

Unfortunately my mom and dad been too sick to save, but my older sister Hannibal and I had been able to undergo treatment, and with the help of our new batteries, we were completely mobilized again.

I touch my shaved head and trace the long scar just behind my ear and frown. It was my own ugly reminder that to anyone else I'd be considered mentally unstable. But to anyone in Musket, I was just a normal kid.