Misfits (Original Version)

Chapter 9; Let Go Of The Ties

All I could feel was rage. I didn't deserve to be lied to, Jeremy
didn't deserve to be out in the trash, Mack didn't deserve to die,
Christopher didn't deserve to be punished for this. Knowing that my
own mother was responsible for the agony of my friends, it just made
me wish that I could get up and...and...kill her!
        Slowly but surely I saw Christopher start sneaking over to where
Jeremy sat. I didn't know what he was going to do, but hopefully it
was a good thing.

My mom pulled out a needle from her desk drawer, in it was a blue
liquid too thick to see through. She pushed a bit of the stuff out, as
to make sure there was no air in the syringe, "Now, could you comply
or must I do this by force. Again."

"Never" Mack snarled.

My mom sighed, "Alright then." She started to approach the shaking
alien with her needle.

        Without thinking, I pushed myself as fast as possible into my mom,
making her trip and drop the syringe. It broke, spreading the blue
stuff onto the ground, in which it fizzed and disappeared from sight.
I looked down at her, she was on her knees just staring at the ground.
As I was distracting her, Christopher was seemingly starting to open
and fix Jeremy. If we got Jeremy working, we'd get out of here no
problem. And it was only one wire, we'd only need electrical tape,
right?

"Honey, do you understand how, well one, dangerous, and two, expensive
doing things like that are? The glass could've hit us, the medicine is
wasted now. I don't have anymore, hun. That's going to cost me a lot."
She still hadn't looked up from the glass covered ground.

Mack was quick to respond to my mother's little play, "Money is the
last of your problems now." Her tentacles raised.

I wanted to let this happen, I wanted to know that my lunatic mother
wouldn't hurt my friends again, that she wouldn't ruin more lives, but
the feeling in my stomach didn't let me. "Mack, stop."

"Huh?" She looked at me, clearly confused as to why she wasn't allowed
to rip my mother to shreds.

"I- I can't let this happen." I sighed.

"She lied to you for your entire life, she ruined my life, let alone
created a robot that runs on a heart. How can you not want this?" Mack
didn't understand my family tie.

"She's my mom, I can't-"

        Our quarrel was interrupted by clanking, and then a familiar monotone voice.

"Have you cut yourself? My sensors detect a dangerous substance-"

"Jeremy! Thank God!" I rolled backwards, disregarding my mother and
Mack. "I thought you were dead-"

"I cannot die by my on and off wire being cut..."

"I was still worried for you man." I knew he wasn't capable of
understanding, but I could at least be thankful. "Thank you
Christopher."

Christopher's chest puffed out a bit in his vain attempt at silently
accepting my thank you. but he resorted to words anyway, "No problem"
He was playing the clear fear in voice off cool.

"I assume that woman on the ground is your mother?" Jeremy budded in.

"Yes, and I have one favor to ask of you Jeremy." I had to let her off
easy, I was her daughter after all.

"What is it?"

"You see that empty android showcase over there?"

"Yes."

"Lock her in there."

"Right away."

        As he said, he started for her right away. She wasn't going without
struggling, but Jeremy was much stronger than her. The last thing I
saw of my mom before Jeremy tore the door off and we exited, was pure
regret and guilt in her eyes when they met mine. I couldn't help but
feel bad, but I had to leave her. If I wanted to keep my friends safe,
I had the let go of the tie.

                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        It was late at night as we left the building. I must've been asleep
all day in that previous cell. The sky was an appealing navy blue with
a tint of purple. The white stars shining in the distance, they were
beautiful although I knew they were long dead. The moon was full, and
so close to earth you could make out the larger craters on it's
surface. The wind was chilly, but my tendency to wear a long sleeve
shirt underneath a t-shirt, I was covered. The roads nearby were
barren, making it safe to walk, but Christopher had a better idea.

"I have a car in the parking lot, it'll be safer to travel in a cop
car than strolling down a highway at midnight." He offered.

"That's a good idea." I thanked him.

        Mack was too shaken to speak, she was in silence the whole time. Just
following with her arms wrapped around her. Her blue hair was a mess,
and the pinkish orange color of her face was drained to a mere pale
rose color. It was unsettling to see her afraid and not attacking
anything. This poor creature was traumatized to the point of no
return. When she finally recovered from this, I knew we should never
speak of it again.
        Jeremy was just following blankly. His movements and expressions void
of emotion, but I knew that somewhere in that disgusting human heart
of his he felt something. Whether it was fear, anger, or relief of
escape. He just didn't know how to show it, he never had to before.
When I looked at him, with his hair perfect once more, his glasses
clear, and his back straight, I could still only think of how afraid
he looked back at the cells. How ashamed he looked as the scientist,
whom I still don't know the name of, opened his chest to reveal the
heart. Jeremy must've known what was inside of him, and known that it
would bother me. He had to have some way to tell what I would think
when I saw it, when anyone saw it.
        Christopher looked just as rattled as Mack. Judging by little loyalty
he had to the other officers, I could figure he was extremely new. Not
even that he just plain said he was the new guy, his reactions to
everything were so real. He hadn't been trained in anything like this,
and I guessed he never thought he would be. His hair was even more
messed up than it was before, chunks of hair sticking up in different
directions. It hadn't noticed until now, however, that he had a slight
limp in his left leg. I would never ask someone about that kind of
thing, but I was really curious.