Echo Hemisphere

10: You Suicidal Sloth

Five quick knocks, then two. That was the pattern I was told by Allin to listen for. That was the mechanic here to give me my new arm. Allin checked through the hole in the door and let in the new person. This person had a skin tone darker than hers, similar eyes and a wild bush on his head in the most familiar color I've seen, purple. He carried a big box by a handle.

He immediately locked eyes with me. He dropped the box, startled by both me and the box falling to the floor with a very loud sound. He reached down for it nervously. "Barry, you didn' tell me... this was the kind of kid I was makin' an arm for!" Who's Barry? And how come he sounds so weird

"I did! I said 'a disturbed/ introverted teenage girl who could possibly be dangerous.'" When did Allin tell him that? Wait, does Allin also go by the name Barry? How many names does she have?

He hushed his tone, "Ya never said anything about her bein' Green! This is... she- she is the definition of taboo. Yer gonna set the world off in a panic soon enough once word gets out that she's alive." What's taboo? How would I set off a panic?

"Well, I'm sorry for having a heart big enough for someone who secretly existed for so long. You get past her appearance once you're around her long enough. At least appreciate how big it is after I saved you from almost killing yourself, Mia." Why did he want to kill himself? Wait, his name is Mia? I was told the mechanic was Fridae. I'm not grasping this situation well at all.

He didn't say anything for a moment, staring at the floor gripping his box. "Just lemme do my job and I'll leave when I'm done. I don't accept every job offer, so be thankful that I even came here from Plaeta." What's Plaeta?

Allin crossed her arms. "...Then get to work already, you suicidal sloth."

Mia huffed, "Sit down. I needa do some measurements." Me? He raised his head to my eyes, "You, Green. You're the only one here without an arm. Sit." I backed away until my legs hit the bed, I sat down.

"Her name is Hanko." Allin glared at his back from an angle as he opened his box.

"So it has a name." He didn't face her.

"Hanko is a she and she is human, so treat her like one!" Allin roared. She said that I'm human and I should be treated like one. I like how that sounds.

Mia raised his voice in return, "Didn'cha already say ya wanted me to start workin'?!" When Allin stayed silent, he relaxed his shoulders and continued pulling things out.

Mia put a small flat board on his squatted knees and moved a wound-up spiral he was unwinding against the length of my arm. He scribbled something on the board and proceeded to repeat the motions, putting the spiral-thing up to or around a part of my arm and writing something briefly. "Okay, this is too quiet, and I'm confused." That's exactly how I feel. "Can you tell me why you have bruises around your neck n' wrist?" I understand that.

Allin answered for me, "She got those marks from ability depressors from when she was a slave underground in the mines."

"What about your arm, Hanko?"

My memories of all the dark times I was disciplined by being cut rushed back to me. "They didn't like me not working enough. They... started with fingers, kept going." The unreal pain of my arm still hurts.

"Who's they?"

Allin chimed in again, "She means 'they' as in Mine Masters; whenever she didn't find enough of something, or she did something wrong, they would cut part of her arm off."

"And howda you know all this?"

Allin leaned against the wall, "I found her a few days ago standing in the middle of the road, then I took her here and she told me."