Upgraded

Log 9

Fade lead Kristin into her room, a purple and cream colored room with a plum colored bed and cream walls. There were a few chairs stuck in the far corner and from what was peeking out from the curtains she could see there was a large window that went from ceiling to floor. "Here you go. My room is just across the hall in 217. At least I think it still is." Fade nodded and turned to leave the room. That was the breaking point, his leg gave out and he fell to the ground in a mess of swear words. His head hit the ground as his legs fell out from under him, his right leg being the culprit for his fall. His hands went straight to his leg as it tensed under his touch. It seemed to be cramping, after carrying Kristin to the base.
"Fade? Are you alright?" Kris knelt down to see if he was alright, but when she reached his level she could see he was holding his leg and had his eyes squeezed closed. His back sock was dark and from what little skin was showing was stained red. Kristin drew back and covered her mouth with her hand. He looked in so much pain, Kristin tilted her head wondering how he kept it for as long as he did. Thinking she'd be of some help, Kris helped him up and took him to her bed. "Lay down."

"Wooh, being a bit pushy ain't we, Snips?"

"What?! No... why are you always making these types of... nevermind." she sighed and turned away. She looked at herself in the mirror that was above a small dresser. She touched her cheek just under her upgraded eye and sighed. It tended to hurt when she was worked up. Although it was an upgraded eye, it never saw the same. It saw shadows and made bright things brighter. The explosion had blinded her and caused her eye to shut down her body, the pain had never subsided and had turned from a sting to a migraine that was causing her left eye to strain more as the right still adjusted to the new setting.
"Hey now, I didn't mean to offend ya'. I make jokes when I don't know what else to say. I'm sorry if I did offend you." Fade apologized as he went to stand again. This time he made it one foot on the ground before his leg gave out. Kristin turned back to face him, his blue hair in his face as it scrunched and wrenched from the pain in his leg.
"Here let me..." she walked back to him and knelt down to see his leg. Right away she noticed how much darker his black pant leg was. She rolled up the fabric, yet as she did blood stained her hands as it revealed his pale leg. "Fade, how long had this been bleeding?" she looked up at him. She had his pant leg rolled up past his knee showing off the large gash that ran from the middle of his thigh to just below his knee. The bleeding slowed but the blood still ran down his once pale leg. "I can't see the actual wound. Why didn't you say anything? Oh my god, you were carrying me the whole way here! I'm sorry..." she looked at her hand keeping her eyes away from him. Hearing the rustle of his shirt she looked up as his hand was on her chin guiding her gaze to him.
Kristin never noticed how soft his hands were when he touched her. He helped her up to sit next to him, "Look, don't be so hard on yourself Snips. The Ravener got me and that's when it first opened, the explosion reopened it. I couldn't feel the pain until we stopped moving. You weigh nothing so this is not your fault." he said softly as he put his hand on her leg.
"Kris, I brought him some foo...d, oh I see." Able had walked into the room seeing Fade's hand on her leg. He dropped the tray of food and stalked out of the room. "What's up his ass?" Fade asked as she stood up and went to grab the rag that was once on the tray. Grabbing the rag then the bowl that carried assorted fruit slices, she went into the cream-colored bathroom and returned with the bowl filled with water, bandages they kept in stock in case someone was to 'manly' to go to the med-hall, and a bottle of a green liquid. "What are you doing?"

"Saving your leg, in turn, your life so that we are even." She said in a hurry as she poured the green disinfecting liquid on the rag. "How do I know that you know what you are doing?"

"How did I know that YOU knew what you were doing when you saved me?"

"Wooh, Snips has got jokes?! I'm impressed." he crossed his arms as she rang out the rag and started to clean his leg.
He swore and clenched his fists as she worked her way up to the actual wound. The cut ran longer than she thought and sighed as she stood up. "Don't make a joke but I need you to lay down to I can bind your leg." he complied and laid back against the silk sheets, his arms behind his head.
"I wanted to ask, how did you know where this place was and that Spade would let us in?" she asked as she started to wrap the bandage around his leg. Fade explained that this was his home after his family died and he lost his brother. He said that Spade and Horus let him in, fed him, clothed him, called him their own. "How old were you when they died?"

"I was 16... My brother was 11. 11 freaking years old!" he threw his hands in the air as he spoke. He looked angrier then sad, making Kris feel like somehow this was her fault. Her father was the one who started the upgrading because of her health and she was the first experiment that was successful. All those people before she lost their lives.
She continued to bind his leg and as he took off the necklace from around his neck. "We did everything, and I mean everything. When he got sick, that ended. He need to be upgraded so badly that my parents both went to get the money for it. One day they left our house, one hour later a Tin-head is at the damn door saying that they died in some experiment and we didn't get the money." He slipped the ring on his finger and looked at it.
Why is he telling me all of this? Does he trust me? Kris thought as he spoke of his past. "I'm sorry. You must have been close and this is all my fault." She said as she finished his leg. Sitting on the bed she folded her hand in her lap as stared at the metal palm she had.
There was the sound of fabric russling, then a hand on her shoulder, "Not bad Snips. Besides, it's not your fault, it's your douch of a dad's fault."

"But I was the first. Your parents, your brother."

"Sure they are gone, but my old man hated me, and my mom was a hore. The old one I cared about is...was my brother. Corwin was a good kid and he died because of my parents' lack of knowledge. They wasted money on stupid things and when they died we didn't have nothing in our account. Don't beat yourself up, Snips. You didn't do this." he put his arm around her like a big brother would comforting their sibling and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Now I want to know about you. Got any siblings?"

"No, with as many health issues that I have... I guess had my parents didn't have any other kids."

"Ok, what about your mom?"

"She was the first person my dad experimented on. She had a genetic disorder that he tried to fix. She died."

"Ok then, pets?"

"Couldn't my dad is allergic to pet fur."

"Well maybe that's how we kill the SOB, Eh? Lock him in a room with cats." Fade joked as he stood to pick up the fruit that Able had dropped. Kristin started to laugh, a feeling that she hadn't experienced since her mom died. Shocked with a smile, Fade turned around, "Are you laughing at my jokes?"

"That one was funny. That one! Not the others Funny guy?"

"So you admit that I am funny?"

"Just that joke."

"Right, come on. This room has a balcony and it's stuffy in here." Fade opened one of the windows and sat on the concrete balcony. Kris stood and followed him to the outside and sat next to him.
Time went by and they sat there for a moment talking about their childhood and laughing about random stories the other would tell. "So wait? You and your brother drove a fourwheeler up a tree?"

"Yep! We didn't tip over neither. Alright, your up what stupid stuff did you get into as a kid." Fade asked as he took a bite of a peach. He tossed the pit and laid back to he was resting his head on his arm and his feet were dangling over the edge.
"Um... I didn't do anything stupid as a child."

"I call bull, you had to have done something."

"Fine, fine ok, um, well this one time I took one of the Tin-heads' helmet and put it on a pig and turned it loose." she recalled. Fade burst into laughter. His laugh was contagious, causing Kris to start to laugh. He really isn't that bad. He definitely surpasses all the stereotypes. Kris thought to herself as she watched him laugh so hard he had to hold his side, "Was it really that funny?"

"Yes, you do know what most of the rats out here on the streets call the Tin-Heads?

"No."

"We call them Pigs, so you put a PIG'S HELMET ON A LITTRAL PIG! That's great and I need to see this for myself." he burst into laughter again rolling on his back. Kristin tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as they continued to laugh about random stuff.

Little did they know, someone was listening to their conversation outside the door and they were not happy about it. The stalker broke the glass cup they were holding as they tightened their fist into a ball. The figure glared and made a silent vow to not let this get any further, before walking away