Misfits (Original Version)

Chapter 8; The Past Bites

We were out the door searching for an exit like a ragtag parade of
misfits. Surprisingly, we weren't spotted, the lights were out. The
issue with that, was the fact we couldn't see because of it. We were
blindly heading into the worst place yet.

We entered a room with double doors, and when we got in Christopher
finally piped up, "Uh- I have a flashlight on my belt- but I can't
grab it-"

    Mack hastily took the flashlight from the cop's belt, and shined
it around the room. It was definitely a mistake to come in here.
    The room looked just like the hidden basement in my house. The
books, the jars, the androids, and the computer. It was set up exactly
the same, but this looked much more cared for than the basement. The
jars were spotless and clean, the books weren't dusty. In fact, they
looked as if someone had dusted them not five minutes ago. The
androids were standing up straight, eyes closed, but I had an uneasy
feeling being around them. Jeremy wasn't on, and he couldn't even
fight the other ones, if those robots turned on they'd attack us
immediately. The computer desk had journals just like my mom's, open
to different pages, but that was her handwriting.
    Creaking emerged from the door, and Mack hid instinctively. This
time she took underneath the desk. Chris and I had nowhere to go,
especially because he was carrying Jeremy. Maybe we could play
innocent, like, the cop was trying to take me to my cell but we made a
wrong turn. And he was carrying a robot because...it shut down out of
nowhere. Yeah. That would work. Mack, who still had the flashlight,
shut the light off.

    The door gently swing open, and my mom walked in wearing a similar
lab coat to the maniac next door. She flicked the light switch,
drowning the room in yellow brightness. Upon seeing me, she rushed
over, wrapping me in her arms.

"Shelby! Oh my goodness, I thought those things kidnapped you! I was
so worried!"

She didn't notice my hesitance to her touch, I couldn't deny that she
lied to me for a majority of my life. "Yeah..."

She stood up, and noticed Christopher carrying our robot friend, she
approached and place a hand on Jeremy's, now closed, chest. "Isn't his
design just brilliant? Every motherboard having a part on keeping the
heart beating, and then the heart in exchange keeping the motherboards
working. A perfect, eternal exchange. All you need is an organ donor,
robotics smarts, and materials. I'd say I couldn't do it better
myself, but he was designed by anyone else."

I was hit with shock, "You...designed that gruesome sight?!"

"It isn't as simple as looking at. After all, you weren't supposed to
see the inside. Too bad they scrapped my idea, we could've had 24/7
service from androids, but they saw it as room for error. Only this
one though, only this one malfunctioned. I was too slow on putting in
the programming." She looked at Christopher, "You didn't need to try
and take this one sir, he's just trash. You can throw him over there."
She pointed to a huge garbage can next to her desk.

    I bit my lip trying to keep from saying anything about that.
Jeremy wasn't trash. Christopher willfully obeyed her instruction, but
placed him down gently next to the trash can instead of inside it. I
sure hope I wasn't wrong putting my trust in the cop.

"Now honey,"  My mom looked down at me again, "what are you doing here?"

"I- uh-" I couldn't think of that answer.

"She was a witness of the alien, miss." Christopher picked up for my stuttering.

    I smiled at him, and before my mother saw he winked back at me.

"Is that who was running away with you and prototype? She was an
excellent subject. Do you know where she is officer?"

"I'm afraid not ma'am." He replied.

"That's a shame, figuring she's under the desk over there." She shook
her head, leaning backwards to slam a red button. The lights went red
and the doors locked. "I was hoping for some truth from either of you.
My own daughter and a police officer, lying to my face."

    Mack had emerged from under the desk, standing much straighter
than before. Her tentacles were ready to rip once more, and her eyes
were focused solely on my mom. They definitely had history.

"What an interesting creature you were A48. Maybe this time I can
finish my tests?" My mother was revealing how crazy she was. She was
just the same as the scientist in the other room!

"Never!" Mack bared her surprisingly sharp teeth and hissed.

"With that attitude I never will. We'll just have to fix that." My
mother calmly strode to her desk and went rummaging through her
notebooks.

    Mack sprinted to the door, attempting to get it off of it's
hinges, but it wasn't working. All I could do was sit in shock. My mom
was a lunatic, Jeremy was technically trashed, Mack was going to die,
and we dragged a brand new cop into it. Mack still wouldn't give up on
the locked door. She was truly terrified, and so was I. Everything I
knew about my mom was a lie. She wasn't a nurse, she was a whackjob
government scientist. I had never noticed anything off about her! She
was the classic cheery but disciplined mother like in TV shows. Maybe
that was what was wrong, she had out on an act the whole time.