Broken Brigade (Read Desc.)

Chapter Five

      Throughout the night, Aisling was kept awake by troubling thoughts that ceased to stop. Ideas and scenarios raced through her mind. Yet, when she tried to elaborate on a single thought, her exhaustion prevented her from grasping more than a small wisp of it.

      Combing her hand through her hair, Aisling closed her eyes as her chest heaved a heavy sigh. She mumbled to herself, "Why am I so tired? I've been getting rest..."

      After a bit of thinking, Aisling came to the conclusion that her recent night terrors had prevented her from properly resting. Sitting up, Aisling felt a sudden pain in her back similar to that of a shock one experiences when coming into contact with static electricity except with greater intensity.

      Feeling her back with her real hand, Aisling ran her fingers over the cold metal going down her spine. She thought to herself, 'I can't have taken any sort of damage. I would have felt it sooner...' As she felt the hardware which connected from her neck to her mechanical arm, she came across an area which shocked her when her skin came into contact with it.

      Quickly, Aisling drew her hand away before slipping off her tank top. Using a mirror in the room, Aisling searched the hardware implanted into her back.

      The metal wrapped partially around the side of her neck which branched off to her mechanical arm. On the back of her neck, there was a piece of hardware resembling a snake's head on top of the metal connecting to her arm. This shape connected to an augmentation which ran down her spine. This hardware took the form of a segmented, snake-like piece of metal. Plates covered the wiring on the inside which was covered in a durable material which gave off a faint, purple glow.

      As she observed the spinal augmentation, Aisling noticed some of the material was cracked towards the bottom.

      A numbness began to overtake Aisling's legs and back as the hardware sparked. With a slight sense of panic, Aisling stumbled over towards her satchel which rested at the foot of the bed.

       Digging through the bag, Aisling found a small object that seemed to be no more than a simple pen.

      Returning to the mirror, Aisling held the object near the crack. Clicking the pen, the end emitted a sort of dark yellow laser which, when coming into contact with the crack, began to seal them.

      Aisling maneuvered the device with a steady hand and a precision gained by years of work similar to that of this. Or rather, the years of experience as an elite sniper.

      Once the repairs were finalized, Aisling felt feeling and strength return to her numb lower half. Her chest heaved a long sigh as she stood, muttering incoherently in what could be interpreted as, "I'm gonna shoot myself one day."

      Suddenly, the boat lurched. The unexpected movement caused Aisling to lose her balance, resulting in her falling and letting out a loud groan. The groan wasn't so much from pain as it was from annoyance at the sudden inconvenience.

      A voice came from the intercoms, which Aisling only now noticed, "Sorry for the sudden jerking. Someone, forgot to steady the boat so it wouldn't be rocked by the waves."

      Aisling recognized the voice to be that of Samuel. The sound of Aedan yelling at his brother for calling him out over the intercoms could be heard briefly before they cut out.

      Eventually, Aisling gave up trying to catch up on any form of rest. Leaving her room, Aisling traveled to the main deck. She could see Vlad and Molly on the boardwalk as she overlooked the coast. Vlad was currently teaching Molly how to fish with a spear.