Through the Lungs and Back

Chapter Ten

 "Is she an android?" The doctor asks, bewildered. "No." I reply. Although Molly is technically classified as an android or a robot, I didn't want to get us kicked out. "She's completely fine, I swear." My confidence goes up a few notches. I wonder how long she'll be out for. I take off her goggles so she'll be in a more comfortable position when she wakes up. The crowd backs away to their own tables, and I go up to the counter to get breakfast. I grab a tray from a stack near the front, and I join the line.

"How many people do you need breakfast for?" A man behind the counter asks. "Four." I reply. He gives me a weird look. "The other three are sleeping." I say. He buys into it, and gives me four pieces of toast. I thank him, and I move down the line. I end up with four pieces of toast, four boiled eggs, and four bottles of water. Looks like we can eat comfortably for some time. When I get back to the table, Aline is there. "Breakfast." I tell her. I set the tray down on the table. "Sweet." She replies. When I sit down, I smell mint shampoo. Aline must've taken a shower. Now that I think about it, I should probably take a shower. "I had to move your blankets to take a shower." Aline says. She flips her halfway dry hair to the other side of her head. "Thanks." I reply. Aline gnaws away at her piece of toast, finishing it at lightning speed. "Feeling better?" I ask once she finishes her toast. "Yeah." Aline replies. "My shoulder is still pretty sore, though." She continues. She must've gotten hit in the shoulder with the dart. Once she finishes her breakfast, she starts braiding Molly's hair. "Ellis should be out soon. He takes quick showers." Aline says. "I'm surprised they didn't cut the water supply." I say. Aline finishes braiding Molly's hair, in either a Dutch or French style. I don't know the difference.

Molly's head raises slowly, but her eyes are still dull. A few people look our way. "Molly, you're awake." I say. She stares at me with a blank expression. "Molly?" Aline asks, leaning over the table. We exchange confused looks when Molly still doesn't react. When I stand up to go get Ellis out of the hideout, Molly stands up and grabs my shirt.

"Why am I here?" She asks, sounding nervous. Her eyes remain dull, but she's scanning me. Aline backs away, and most of the people around us turn to stare. Molly isn't holding on tight enough to hurt or constrict me, just enough to keep me in place. I look to Aline for help, but she doesn't look back. "Am I sick? Is that why I'm here?" She starts to take shallow breaths. "No." I reply. I don't think she's going to hurt either of us. "Why?" She pauses. "Then why am I here?" She pauses to catch her breath. When she stands up, I realize how tall she is. Taller than Aline, and possibly me too. "They're watching us. The doctors. They're here." Molly says, sounding more panicked. "And the disease. It's going to kill us." A doctor taps Molly on the shoulder, and she whips around to face him. She swats his hand off her shoulder, and the fingers on her left arm, the robotic one, light up. "Back up." Her voice breaks. The doctor holds up his hands and backs away. Her eyes brighten to their normal colour, and her fingers stop glowing. "Sorry." She whispers and sits down.

Just then, Ellis walks into the cafeteria and sits down in front of the tray. "Thanks for picking up breakfast." He says to me. "No problem." I reply, waiting for the sense of relief that Molly's codes are fixed. Something tells me that Molly is still not okay. Like the codes were a temporary fix, but they'll wear out soon. Like Ellis said earlier, her natural brain fights the codes. Why don't the doctors replace that part of her brain? She's already considered a robot, so why not? It'll probably end up saving a few lives if she really is crazy. And we wouldn't have to repair her codes every month or so. That would save us a headache.

"You guys want to explore? We have weapons, so if anything comes at us, we can fight." Aline asks, even though Ellis is the leader of the group. "Why not? It'll be fun." Ellis replies. "I've heard that the lab is making atomic bombs. We should check it out." Molly suggests. "That sounds like a bad idea." Ellis counters. "Not all of us can withstand extensive amounts of radiation." Molly thinks for a second. She's not going to let Ellis veto this one. Those two are like the leaders. They pick what to do, and Aline and I go with it. "You all have makeshift hazmat suits. We'll be fine." Molly pushes. "We are not going." Ellis stomps his foot. Molly stomps her foot in return, and I can hear the metal in her knee crunch. It causes the ground to vibrate slightly. Ellis takes this offensively, like Molly is mocking him. "We're still not going." Ellis says. He crosses his arms and shoots Molly a stern look.