Dreaming in Static

Chapter 16

Polaris

When she opened her eyes, everything was black, and everything was pain. Every part of her body ached as if she'd just been run over by a train. Her head felt groggy, as though she were a human who'd just woken up from a very long sleep. The exterior of her stomach seemed to be held intact by mere duct tape, and there was a strange buzzing filling her midsection.

Polaris extended her arms, ignoring the jolt of agony that coursed through them. Feeling along the floor with her fingers, she recoiled when she touched something soft. She opened her mouth, about to call for Wei again, but then she remembered what happened the last time she'd done that and thought better of it. Instead, Polaris edged forward, closer to the surface her fingers had brushed against.

It was hard to comprehend her environment; thick layers of dust from the explosion obstructed her eyes and vents, restricting her senses and clouding her thoughts. Her system seemed to be suffering. Nevertheless, she moved her hand against the soft surface, trying to map out some sort of shape to it.

It was a body: that much was clear. But whose body? Polaris wanted to scream her frustration at not being able to answer this simplest of questions, not being able to distinguish between Wei and his aunt or his uncle or--no, Amir wouldn't be here. Amir was the one who had brought them here.

She sat in the dark, pondering her situation. Somehow, Polaris would escape from wherever this was...but first she had to be able to see. She extracted a small brush from her wrist compartment with shaking fingers and set to work cleaning her vents, hoping that would help clear out her system.

She tried to text Andromeda, but there was no reception, wherever Polaris was. Or perhaps the explosion had somehow affected her WiFi components? Either way, she wasn't used to not having the Internet ready for her at every turn. It was unsettling, to say the least.

Although it was currently pitch-black, there would be light eventually; there was no way Amir would leave them all here to die. That brought Polaris to the conundrum associated with being trapped in what seemed to be a basement: why?

Amir had seemed courteous enough. He obviously didn't share the government's apparent distaste for cyborgs, and in any case, he didn't seem like the sort to trap girls in his basement. Yet there was no doubt in Polaris's mind that Amir was the one who'd taken her into this room. She could remember his face very clearly, like a wild animal, looming above hers...and she could trace the arc of his arms in her memory as he swung at her, knocking her out.

Suddenly, she heard the flip of a switch, and light flooded the room, interrupting her train of thought. Ducking her head instinctively, she saw that the body next to her was that of Wei and breathed a sigh of half-relief, half-dread. Polaris shoved her brush back into her wrist and edged backwards when she glimpsed Amir standing at the corner of the room.

"Hello," he said, walking toward her calmly. Every step of his boots made a bone-chilling thump on the dust-covered floor. Polaris swallowed, trying to keep her composure. "You must be the cyborg."

Her heart fluttered in hope, and she tried to appear as frightened as possible. Think, think, what would a cyborg say? "No, I-I'm human!"

Amir scoffed. "You really think you can fool me with those wires in your stomach?" His lip curled in clear disgust. "You're still a dirty cyborg." In the blink of an eye, he was in front of her, grabbing the side of her face. "And you're with the rebels. Every cyborg is, nowadays."

"What are you talking about?!" Polaris spat, inching away from him. "I've never joined the Rebel Alliance--I've never even talked to a rebel! Why are you keeping me here?" She let out a long, sorrowful wail that echoed off the walls of the tiny room.