Part Human

Chapter 2 - The Warehouse

I wake up on a very uncomfortable cot surround by a bunch of other cots. My head throbs as I sit up and look around. Other people sit or lay on the cots. It looks as though I am in some old building. I look down at myself. I'm wearing a plain white hospital gown. Where am I?

My eyes search over the other cots. I see another girl sitting up on her cot not too far from me. One of her arms is made out of metal. Oh my God! Cyborg. I lift my arms up in from of me. My left arm from the wrist down is made of metal. The other arm is normal. That is when I see my legs, which are barely covered by a thin white blanket. I almost faint. Both of my legs are metal from what I can see. I throw the blanket onto the floor. My legs are metal from right above the knee straight to my toes. I feel like vomiting, screaming, and crying. All I can muster is a single tear.

I turn to look at the other girl again. She seems to be looking at me. I carefully put my feet onto the floor. I'm blown away by the fact that my new feet can feel the floor. The floor is very cold and hard. The girl watches me as I walk over to her. She pats the end of her bed. I see that she is sitting criss cross on top of the blanket. I sit wearily down, trying not to touch her at all.

Part of her skull is replaced with a panel of clear plastic. Inside isn't a brain but some type of motherboard that controls her body. Wires run in and out of her "brain" and through holes in the bottom of her skull. I can also see that one of her legs has been replaced.

"Where are we?" I ask. My voice comes out raspy and dry. I try to clear my throat, swallowing saliva.

She looks me up and down, then she says, "We are in a cyborg storehouse. I'm not sure exactly where we are geographically though." Then she smiles at me. "My name is Amanda." She holds out her human hand to me.

I reluctantly grab it and shake. "My name is Alya."

"You are probably wondering what happened to you." I nod. "There is a computer over there." She points to the side of the warehouse. I see the computer sitting on a counter that seems to run the length of the wall. "You can go on there and find your name. A file will come up. It will tell you everything about what happened. The bathrooms are also over there. You'll see them."

I look back at her. "Thank you. How long have you been here?"

She pushes her hair behind her ear with her robotic hand. "I've only been here for a couple days. People don't stay here long. I have seen a lot of people come and go." I watch as she looks around the room.

"Where do they go?" I ask, even though I think I already know the answer to the question.

She looks back at me. I can see sadness in her eyes. "They were bought by someone rich enough to afford us. That is what is going to happen to me, and it will happen to you too." She looks away again. "I suggest you go see what happened to you and what is different about you. It won't be easy to absorb."

I get up from her cot. "Thank you. It was nice to meet you." We shake hands again.

Eyes follow me as I make my way over to the computer. The cots are close to each other, which makes it kind of hard to move around. I try to keep my eyes on the ground. I don't want to make eye contact with the other people. All of our lives are basically ending. I don't want to see the pain hiding within their eyes.

I make it to the computer. The screen is covered with folders. Each one has the last name then first name of each person in this room. My eyes search over them, looking for my name. Alya Poe. I find it and click on it. A list of documents pops up. I read the titles.

I finally click on the one titled "Medical History". It opens up to a document with the name of a hospital at the top. The document starts with my information. My name, age, parents names, my birthday, and everything else. I scroll past all of that to the part I really want to see.