The King of Shadows: Prologue

The throne, a magnificent color indeed, had never worn away or lost its glamor. The gold shone through the throne room, halting the servants to gaze at its beauty. Indeed, this was the throne that the pharaoh was to sit upon. The pharaoh entered the grand throne room. His black cape flowing behind him, almost as if the wind was blowing. His golden headdress was as magnificent as his throne.

The pharaoh adjusted his golden accessories. A golden Ankh necklace lay around his neck, a symbol of eternal life. He sat down on his throne. One hand rested on each arm rest. He was absolutely bored. As a the young pharaoh he was, there wasn't much prospect in protecting or working for the people. His father had taught him the importance of protecting and preserving his country, but he didn't see any of it being of great importance.

The pharaoh was only seventeen years of age. His advisors questioned making him pharaoh, but the young man argued that it was not only divine right, but that Tutankhamen was only nine when he was crowned. Nobody dared to argue about the new pharaoh's age after that.

Outside the palace walls, the chants of millions of people could be heard cheering Amenhotep's name.

"Your majesty, the celebration preparations have almost been completed," one of his advisors explained.

Amenhotep studied the advisor curiously.

"And your point is?" He spat.

"I apologize for bothering you, my pharaoh, but I do not believe I understand the context of your question," the advisor replied.

Amenhotep disinterestedly played with his many expensive jewels, which took his slaves months to forge.

"I have no wish for any celebrations," Amenhotep finally said.

"Why is that, your majesty?" Asked one of his magicians of his court.

"Ahmose wishes to know why. You want to know why, Ahmose? I'm sick of this this throne already!" Amenhotep thundered.

"Are there any issues with your coronation?" Ahmose felt annoyed. He had served more than four pharaohs, and he had never been disrespected the way he felt now.

"My father died yesterday at the hands of something we know not of, and apparently, there aren't any issues," Amenhotep sat on the edge of his throne, his hands gripping the armrests harshly.

"I apologize my pharaoh. I shall postpone the celebrations to give you time to mourn," Ahmose nodded at his fellow magicians.

"Good."

Seti, one of the other magicians who had always held a grand respect for Amenhotep was concerned. Never had the young boy acted the way he did now.

"Are you faring well, you highness?" Seti bit his lip.

Amenhotep said nothing.

"If you want the celebrations to commence, hurry up," his voice broke the shroud of silence that had overcome the throne room.

"Yes my pharaoh," Ahmose rolled his eyes.

Amenhotep stood up abruptly and left the palace. He emerged into the light of the desert sun. Instead of the sand of Egypt, he saw the lush green gardens of the palace. The grass, crisp and fresh, smelled of morning dew.

The vibrant desert roses seemed to welcome the pharaoh as he walked by. In the center of the gardens, stood a handcrafted fountain.

In the center of the fountain, three gods, Anubis, Horus, and Ra, stood. They were holding up a large sphere. Water spouted out from this sphere. Amenhotep came near the statue. He looked into the ruby red eyes of Anubis.

"I don't get why you took my father from me so soon! I'm not ready to be pharaoh!" Tears trickled from Amenhotep's eyes.

He felt hopeless. He knew that he would never be the pharaoh his father was. He let the thought dwell in his mind, and depress him.

He knew that typically, a pharaoh would be celebrating and enjoying their coronation, but he could only think about the hardships he would face.

Amenhotep gazed at the garden, he rested his arms against the fountain. His thoughts wandered to the food that he was about to eat. Distracted and tired, he began to walk back to the palace. He tripped over a rock, and met the ground. Instantly, large beams of light shot up from the ground behind Amenhotep.

He turned around frantically. He was laying on his back as he watched the scene unfold. The large red beam of light was followed by a few smaller, yellow beams. He felt the shock and fear fill his heart.

"What in the name of Horus is that?" He shakily stood up.

Almost instantly, a large figure emerged from deep within the Earth. Anubis.

Anubis' deep red ruby eyes stared directly at Amenhotep. His jackal head was dark. His large fangs showed as he snarled. He was wearing a bottom tunic and traditional shoes. His large scythes rested at his sides. A large golden scale was in his hands.

"Anubis?" Amenhotep felt his voice quiver.

"My pharaoh, beware the great power you have unlocked. Beware the shadows that come with my power. Beware the darkness that lurks for you."

Amenhotep felt like he was about to pass out of fear.

Then, Anubis opened his mouth, and uttered the words that would haunt Amenhotep for the rest of his reign.

"Beware the shadows, keeper of the Ankh. For you are their king."

Update

Hello again! I just wanted to let you guys know that Finished is very close to being published. I will try my best to get it online this week, but if that doesn't happen, I'll try to get it on ASAP. I have started a new series, well a trilogy really. It's the Shadow Trilogy and so far the first book has been completed. The second book is in the first draft stage.
The plan for the names of each book so far:
Book One- The King of Shadows
Book Two- The Black Pyramid
Book Three- The Dark Guardian

It is about my take on Egyptian mythology. I change up a lot of the mythology part to fit my story ideas, but it isn't very different. The synopsis of the first book is that a normal kid named Joseph Rose stumbles upon an ankh, an ancient Egyptian artifact, in his own home. He finds out that he is something called the king of shadows and he meets the Egyptian Guardian of the underworld, Anubis, who is plotting his revenge against the Guardian of cats, Bastet.

There's a lot more to the story, but that's all I can reveal without spoiling the entire book.

Have a great day!

Announcement:

Hey again!
Just wanted to let you guys know that I have an instagram page as well! I also update on there, so if you prefer social media updates, follow me at @thestoryvillage on instagram. I post some of  my personal favorite chapters on there and many other things. I also will update this and my instagram as many times as I can.
Thanks, and I hope everyone has a great day!

Update:

Hello again! So I'm proud to announce that Finished is finished! I have decided to upload previews of my books (Probably the first thirteen chapters, depending on the book) on this blog. I am currently using Blurb to write my books. Finished is in the editing phase, and to be published phase. I am planning on selling my book as well. It has about twenty two chapters, and the pages are TBA. As I get more information, I will update this blog.

Well that's it for this update! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their day!

Finished: Chapter 13

The woods were cold. At least at night they were. I snuck out in the middle of the night when no one was looking. I hoped that this Gizmo guy was asleep and not waiting for me again. I remembered all the things I decided about him. I slowly crept through the dark, and only the moon was my guide to light. Gizmo seemed to be nowhere, and that gave me hope that I could escape. I had to return to Cleveland. As crazy as it seemed, I had to prove my innocence, give my mother the idea I was still alive. I could imagine her right now. She was so bony when my father disappeared. She lost weight, never ate, never slept, nothing. It was like she was a walking soul less body.
My sister and I weren't sure what to make of it. We thought she was being selfish and not caring to us. When I grew up and first entered the Advanced School, I had a realization that she was just mourning. Eventually she stopped mourning and became her old self. But at her age, which was about thirty at the time, it seemed weird for her to have gray hair. She dyed it eventually to match her old hair color, but she was never the same.
I leaned against a tree to rest after the long walk. I couldn't sweat, not in the cold at least. I was never vaccinated for hypothermia. That vaccine was for people above the age of twenty because of how strong the drug was. I was turning eighteen soon, but it would be another three or four years until I could get the vaccine. If I sweated a lot while I was cold, I could get hypothermia, but maybe the metal parts of my body could help prevent that. I heard a rustle in the leaves, and confirmed it was just wind.
"Going somewhere?" A voice called out.
Gizmo.
"Yeah, and you?" I asked, jokingly.
"Coming to stop you," he hissed.
"Look Gizmo, you don't get it. I can't go back," I said.
"Not for that, coming to stop you to give you advice," he rolled his eyes.
"Why?" I asked.
"I'm getting a bit old to be fighting someone who killed two men," Gizmo threw his gun to the side.
"I don't think I could kill you, just injure you," I said.
"No I think you would do a good job taking me down," Gizmo laughed.
I found it sad that we were having a good time talking about me killing Gizmo, but it was his jokes.
"You should keep going, keep yourself warm. Hypothermia can happen if you work too hard as well Joel," Gizmo explained.
"Look, don't tell Markus I escaped, I need to get out of here," I said.
"What will you do when you're out?" Gizmo asked.
"Go back home and prove my innocence, Mikey is still alive," I said.
"Well, I have a tip for you. Map out the place, grab Mikey. They won't believe you if he's not there," Gizmo said.
"I can't map anything out," I said.
"Here," Gizmo handed me something.
"What is this?" I asked looking up at him.
"Paper," he said, "You map things out on this."
"Oh," I replied.
"And use this pen, you write with it," he added.
"Thanks," I said.
"No problem, also, try to wear less flashy clothes," he laughed.
"Oh," I said looking down at my neon shirt.
"Black is good," he replied.
"What about camouflage?" I asked.
"You see that house, well when you're ready, knock on it. I live there. I'll lend you some camo clothes," Gizmo said.
"Why do you live there?" I asked.
"Looks can be deceiving," he said.
"So that town is not real?" I asked.
"No, Markus planted it there to distract people from the real attraction," Gizmo said.
"Thank you Gizmo, I really appreciate it," I nodded and started back for the building.
"Just remember, the house with the brick chimney," Gizmo called out.
"I will!" I shouted in response.

The next morning, Mikey and I were sitting at a lunch table in the mess hall.
"I was wondering what happened to you," Mikey said.
"Oh well, while you were dead, I became a wanted fugitive, cyborg, killer, anything else?" I asked.
"Yikes, you've really changed," Mikey said.
"Look, it's been a rough time," I said.
"I can see that, but how did you become a fugitive?" Mikey asked.
"The police thought I killed you," I replied.
"Seriously? I was never dead!" Mikey replied.
"That's why I have a plan," I lowered my voice to below a whisper.
"For what?" Mikey lowered his voice as well.
"To escape," I replied.
"You're crazy!" He said.
"No, I'm sneaking out every night. I'm mapping out the entire area. We're in Minnesota. Once I've mapped the area, I'm taking you and getting out. Back in Cleveland, I'll use you to prove my innocence, and then life resumes back to the way it was. You and me in school being the best of friends," I said.
"That seems so simple. Markus has eyes everywhere," Mikey said.
"He will not get in my way," I answered.
"It also sounds like I'm a tool in your plan," Mikey said disappointment in his voice.
"What?! Who gave you that idea?! Don't you want to help me prove my innocence? The only way to do that is to bring you and show that cop that I never killed you!" I said.
"Then get rid of the heart preserver. That's what they used to try to kill me Joel. You can't have it," Mikey stated.
"I know, I'm getting rid of it soon. I just need it for a few more weeks tops. At least until I can map the place out," I said.
"I just think it's a really far-fetched plan," Mikey said.
"Mikey, it's my only hope of getting out of here. Plus we can bust Markus' plan to the government," I said.
"Haven't you considered that this place is the government's foundation? The slogan!" Mikey pointed to a screen displaying it.
"I know, I know about the stupid slogan, but companies like this, they keep things secret," I said.
"I know, but they might be funded by the government," Mikey said.
"We can't consider all of these things Mikey. I'm sure that this cyborg thing Markus has going on is just another one of his dirty tricks, nothing anybody knows about," I said.
"Joel, this just seems like so much to accomplish, I don't know if I can do it," Mikey hung his head.
"Don't be ridiculous! Of course we can pull this off!" I grinned.
"No Joel, you don't get it. We can't do this, Markus will kill us both," Mikey looked around.
"He won't kill me, he can't," I said.
"What makes you so sure?" Mikey raised his eyebrows.
"There's something holding him back from killing me, I just don't know what," I said.
"What do you mean?" Mikey asked.
"Look, Markus had several thousand chances to kill me. Here I am, standing before you, alive and kicking. Markus could've killed me yesterday, this morning, last night, you name it. Yet, he didn't. Either he can't do it, or he's just waiting for the right moment. To be honest, I'm not sticking around for that moment," I said.
"Joel, don't you think you'll be putting your mother through a lot?" Mikey asked.
"I've already put her through too much. I have to go back. I have to Mikey," I stressed.
"Alright... let me see what I can help you with. Markus lets me have some free time usually, so I can get started on your map," Mikey explained.
"That'd be great. I'll map at night, you map in the morning. This way, we can both be sure of the area," I said.
"Gotcha," Mikey said.
After that we parted ways. I went to get a drink of water, and Mikey went on his free time. I noticed Markus walking through the halls. He was on the phone with someone.
"He mustn't know. One slip, and my plans go down the toilet," I heard him say.
His plans... they had to be for me. I knew it. Unless he had a new guinea pig, which then would make my escape out of here ten times easier. I walked past him without giving him a glance. I had always thought Markus was an unusual name for him. Lucifer would suit him better.

Two hours later, I was sitting watching the television in the mess hall when Markus walked in.
"Enjoying  your time?" He asked.
I said nothing.
"It's impolite to not respond," Markus added.
"Welcome to my world," I spat.
"Why is it that you show so much disrespect? You know my jurisdiction allows me to kill you anytime I want," he said.
"You know, that sounds much better than spending an entire lifetime here," I replied.
The television clicked off, and Markus stood in front of me.
"Yes?" I asked.
"I have gone over the footage of you killing Sparks, and something catches my eye every time. The fact that the heart preserver worked without you even touching the button, did you even use it?" He asked.
"Yeah, I used it on him, his heart was in there," I said.
Nothing to hide from him.
"Interesting. Did it prick your finger?" Markus asked.
"You know, I don't think so," I replied.
Markus' eye widened.
"What?" I asked.
"Excuse me, I have to go," he abruptly stood up and ran out of the room.
"What's with him," I shrugged.
I looked around and saw no one, then I turned the television on once more. They were talking about something that caught my attention. I turned up the volume and listened.
"The hunt is still on for the missing boy, Joel Green. Police say he killed fifteen year old Mikey Ramer, who was taken to the hospital, in what appeared to be in critical condition. He was later announced dead. Police say that Joel was taken in for questioning, then took off. They have linked him with the killing of a man named Hollis White, who was killed on his boat in the Cleveland Marina.
"Police think that Joel was originally going with Hollis to leave Cleveland, then killed him. Evidence of how is not clear yet. Brent, do you think we have a serial killer on the loose?" The news reporter asked.
"Well Joy, I think that we might actually have one on our hands. Now the government probably knew how to contain people like him, but this boy might actually be a depressed patient, we don't know, and depression was eradicated years ago... so I don't think this kid is mentally challenged, he might just be crazy," Brent replied.
"This has been floating around the news for several weeks now, and no leads on where he is. It's almost like he's vanished," Joy said.
"True, we will hopefully get more updates," Brent said.
I looked at my hands. Could I really be crazy? I mean I killed Ron and Sparks, but that was for a reason! I never touched Silent Night, or as they call him, Hollis. Ron and Sparks did, and I gave them what they deserved. I felt horrified at my thoughts, I couldn't believe that I thought killing was justifiable. I had no right to take the law in my hands, and yet I did. I wanted to scream, but that would be weird. I closed my eyes, and felt tears roll down my cheek. I was actually surprised that I could still cry. I wasn't insane, I still felt somethings. The media has always been criminalizing certain groups, or people. I was up on the spotlight, and I was being criminalized. How would I explain that Mikey wasn't killed. On second thought, how the hell did he get out of the hospital in the first place?!
I stood up, muted the volume, then looked around for Mikey. I went to the main level where the entrance was. Mikey was just walking in, covered in leaves. His eyes were the size of boulders, and he was scratched up.
"Did Gizmo attack you!? I swear if that old geezer laid a hand on you-" I began.
"Before you speak," Mikey held his hand up. "I was in fact attacked by a rabid bear."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked in confusion.
"I was walking around, and a bear attacked me. In fact, Gizmo saved me," Mikey said.
"Oh," I laughed, relieved that my friend was alright.
He slipped a crumpled piece of paper into my hand.
"I did it," he whispered.
"Thanks!" I beamed.
Mikey at least was fulfilling his promise to help me, I couldn't wait to get out of here.

My eyes were hurting about half way through the day. I was tired and ready to sleep, but something was bothering me. Markus had disappeared after he talked to me, and now he wasn't here. He had been gone all day really. I wondered what bugged him so much after I responded to his question. I closed my eyes, and then reopened them. I looked back up at the television. The blank black screen was intimidating me. I clicked it open. Some stupid news reporters were talking about me again.
"Calm yourself Cleveland," I spat.
"Whatcha watching?" A voice came from behind me.
I turned to look over my shoulder. There was a woman standing there. She had long flowing blond hair, gray eyes, and she was tall. She was wearing a t-shirt that revealed one shoulder, and ripped jeans. She was wearing hover-boarding shoes. Her shirt had some words written on it, probably in French.
"The news," I blankly replied.
"Cool," she said, smiling.
Her teeth were very white. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing any makeup from what I could tell.
"I'm Lori. What's your name?"
"Joel," I replied.
"Joel, hmm interesting name. Well, nice to meet you Joel," Lori laughed.
I looked back at the television, not sure what to do next.
"I never really liked the news," Lori said as she sat down.
"Really? I hate it," I responded.
"Why do ya hate it?" Lori asked.
"Oh, many reasons," I rolled my eyes.
The news reporters were talking about me again, showing a slideshow of me, being normal. Now I killed two people, and I was half machine. Great way to turn things around.
"What happened to you?" Lori asked.
If she saw the story on the news, she made no attempt to ask about it.
"Oh, I was brutally attacked by trees and a guy named Gizmo," I said.
"Gizmo? That old geezer?" Lori asked.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"Okay, origin story time, be prepared for a really boring thirty minutes!" Lori announced.
"I've got all day," I grinned.
"Alright, so I was five during a raid on my town. Some reformed viking losers were attacking my home in France. My parents tried their best to get me out safely, but they were captured. So was I. They executed both of my parents in front of my eyes. I will not go into detail about that. They kept all the little boys, but killed all the girls. Well, I made it out alive somehow. I escaped with the help of a teenager who was up to be killed. He got me out, and I wish I could've thanked him. I never liked to talk, and so I never told him thanks. I kinda regret that.
"So I ran off, the viking guys, they never found me. I was glad about that. Being in France was difficult. There were gangsters during the Seven Terrible Raids. I was almost kidnapped. Anyways, eventually I began a journey to Belgium. I kept thinking about my parents. I was afraid that I would be killed the same way, and eventually flash backs started to come. I wasn't sure what to do about it.
"I finally made it to the Belgium border. That's where I met Markus. He was a border officer at the time. At first he never believed my story about the vikings, but eventually he let me through. I felt free for the first time! I felt alive. I knew I survived the Seven Terrible Raids. Oh yeah, those were over a few years. I lived through two raids, which happened in one year. Markus took me to the hospital. I was treated for my wounds, and a mental doctor checked me out. I had a rare case of PTSD. I was not even sure what that meant. Luckily for me, they spoke French, and so did I.
"If you don't know, PTSD is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I got lots of flashbacks during my day. Things that reminded me of what happened the day my parents were killed bothered me. Sometimes it was bad enough that I would start shaking and crying. It would take me a while to calm down. Markus took me in. He was good to me. I was thankful for that. He was like a father to me. I knew he would never replace my parents, but he was good enough. After a lot of therapy and drugs, my PTSD was gone. I knew deep inside that I wouldn't really recover from that day.
"Eventually, Markus took me to a place called America. Which really explained why he made me learn English before we left. I didn't want to leave, but he really had adopted me, and I wasn't old enough to be on my own just yet. He took me to a place called Minnesota, which is where I live now. It wasn't hard to get used to living here in America. Everyone seemed to be diverse, like I saw on television. I always had a French accent, still do, which some people mocked, but I took no offense to it. I sometimes made fun of Americans myself, so I guess I had it coming.
"So, I became older, had my share of American life, and then Markus moved to Cleveland. He got married, settled down, I felt a little unloved. He had two kids, I was just a side note from then on. He had blood related children, I was just some French kid. So I moved out. I went to the Advanced School, then to college. I got a degree in surgery, the end. That's my life story. Now your turn," Lori said, ending with a sigh.
"Oh, you want me to tell you mine? Okay I guess. I was born in Cleveland. My dad was a scientist, and my mother was an doctor. My sister was born three years after me. I was a smart kid. My dad always stayed on top of my studies. I went to the Advanced School since I was eight. Two years after my fifth birthday, my dad went missing. Police and detectives tried their best, but eventually they filed the case away. A cold case. My mother was devastated, but eventually we moved on. I made lots of friends, but I had only one real best friend. His name was Mikey. Mikey was a goofball, surprising how he made it into the school.
"It was a few years later that things start to get interesting again. It was the final day before break. Mikey and I met up after school, and then we were followed. I noticed, but at first didn't care. Eventually it got creepy, and they cornered us into an alley. They killed Mikey, and left me. Police found me, and thought I did it. They arrested me, but I escaped. Then I was a fugitive. I met a dude named Silent Night, but the same creeps who killed Mikey found us. They killed Silent Night and captured me. That's when I came here. I met Markus, who began to experiment on me. That's really my whole life story, I haven't lived very much," I explained.
"Well, yours is definitely tragic as well," Lori laughed.
I actually caught her accent this time.
"Markus is a freak though," I said.
"What?" She looked at me surprised.
"He turned me into a cyborg, oh yeah, turns out Mikey wasn't dead," I added.
"Did they ever find your father?" Lori asked.
"No, never. He just vanished. Gone. I sometimes wonder if he was killed, kidnapped, or he ran away. Which running away almost made no sense to me," I said.
"Yeah, it's weird," Lori shook her head.
"As harsh as this may sound, I wish I knew what happened to my father like you do," I said.
"I suppose," she replied.

Finished: Chapter 12

I had passed the force field a few miles back, not caring that there might have been a security system. I knew that if Markus had wanted me so bad, he would have to prove it to me first. Saying is not the same as doing. I knew that from experience. I stopped at an empty field on the side of the road. There was really large corn everywhere. I realized these must have been GMO corn. GMOs were really popular nowadays. I hid between the stalks of corn. I laid down and looked up. Since there were no lights in sight, I could see the stars and the moon. The moon, somehow, stayed alive while the sun decided to go away. The stars were shinning below, creating an eerie, but calming glow. I closed my eyes, but I couldn't fall asleep. I stood up, sleeping was wrong. As much as I was tired, I needed food and water. I had to find a way to survive. I looked around, on the ground was a burnt, torn sign. It read:

Welcome to fabulous Minnesota! The snow is cold and the summers are warm!

I wasn't in Cleveland anymore. I was somehow in the state of Minnesota. The sign was completely wrong. There was no snow anywhere anymore thanks to the war. I looked closely at the sign. The art was old. I tried to find out when it was made. I realized that this was made in 3030. My eyes darted around me. Before I hadn't noticed, but there were burnt buildings, homes and stores.
I walked towards the wreckage. Burnt skeletons laid everywhere. It seemed like whatever happened here, was terrible, and it happened a long time ago. The building structures were wood. During and after the war, they were all a new type of material that could withstand any type of natural disaster. I walked through what seemed to be a town. The buildings were wrecked. I closed my eyes and squatted next to a dead body. It seemed old, decayed, and the skeleton was breaking apart.
"What happened to you guys?" I asked.
I stood up and kept walking. The area was a barren wasteland form what it seemed. I walked through a mass of burnt homes and other things. I looked behind me. Lights were blazing from a distance. Markus knew that I was gone, he saw Sparks and knew that I did it. Now he was probably sending a search party. I wouldn't allow him to take me back and experiment on me any longer. I kept running through the burnt city. I now saw what happened. Tanks, planes, and other military vehicles were destroyed, strewn all over the place, and burnt.
The body of someone was hanging out of the top of a burnt tank. I felt like throwing up. These people's lives were destroyed by a terrible war, and these soldiers were sent to their doom. It didn't look like it was the tanks that destroyed the place, it looked more like a giant bomb was dropped on the place. That was probably what happened. I stepped on something. I lifted my foot, there was a human skull laying there. I screamed, a bit too loud for my ears. I started running, tripping, falling, and bumping into large items strewn everywhere. I saw fragments of bullets, human bones, things like that.
Death was everywhere, and I realized that wonderful society I lived in was just a cover for all the destruction that happened over a thousand years ago. How did all of this survive after a thousand years? Better question is, why is it still here?
I found myself running into a tree. On impact I fell backwards. My head hit square in the middle of a thick, bushy tree. I raised my hand to my head. When I removed it, the machine fingers were covered in a bright red liquid. I grabbed a leaf nearby and wiped the area. Too much blood. I'd have to wait it out until it became only a mere scab. No medicine, no band aids. I felt like I was living in Hell.
My biggest problem was facing the fact that every bad thing that happened to me was apparently "a living hell". In reality, my problems were really small compared to a lot of people out there in the world.
I read about people who were starving everyday of their life. People who were 'less fortunate' than us. School taught us that the United States was the only perfect nation, but I knew that every nation had a problem. I closed my eyes, reopened them, and looked around. I was all alone. No animals, no chirping birds, not even a bug. I looked back at the tree that I smashed into. It was a dark oak hybrid. Trees were now hybrids with other trees to create one perfect tree species. They never shed, and stayed the same all the time.
I had little time to react to the bullet that was fired. It smashed into the tree, indenting it. I crawled back, then stood up. I stumbled and bumped into the tree next to me. Someone found me, and now they were trying to kill me. Another bullet fired. I hadn't seen guns in forever, but it looks like they were back in style. The second bullet nearly skimmed my leg, it missed by three inches. I looked frantically around. I felt like screaming, but my vocal cords weren't responding to my brain. It seemed like my body was going into panic mode. My legs shook with pain, and my heart wanted to explode out of my chest. How could I beat someone I couldn't see. I wasn't as afraid when I was attacking Ron and Sparks. It seemed like this person trying to kill me was significantly more experienced than me. I felt a sharp bolt of pain shoot up my upper leg.
I fell to the ground, now blood was falling from my legs. I heard another shot fired, this one hit my upper arms. The guy was aiming for my flesh, not my machine parts. I struggled to get up, and limp through the forest. The shots were being fired from what seemed like everywhere. My head felt like it was spinning around in circles. The world around me seemed to be warping, twisting and turning. I felt faint headed. I stopped to lean against a nearby tree, but instead of meeting the bark, I fell face first on the ground. Sharp thorns met my face, and I whimpered in pain.
 I felt so strong earlier, and now I feel like I'm nothing. Tears rolled down my cheek. I shakily stood up. The pain I felt from the bullet was now more of a burning sensation. I silently screamed, my voice wouldn't work right. I lifted my sleeve and saw the place where the bullet hit. It was a neat circle of bright red. My blood was strange, I know that blood was usually a darker red than anything else really.
That really didn't matter to me right now, all I cared about was surviving. I knew it was hopeless though. My head was now violently pounding. Before it was just a small pulse, but now it was worse. I felt afraid, alone, terrible, fatigued, dizzy, sweaty, I literally felt like my soul was slipping from my body. Not sure how I came up with that one.
I shakily sank to the ground. I leaned against the tree, breathing heavily. I felt my eyes closing. I forced them to open, just in time to see a pair of black boots standing in front of me.
"Next time you want to escape, you should remember that I exist," the voice said.
My vision was blurry, but I could feel the person's arm grab my own arm roughly. He made me stand up, and cuffed my hands. I felt my eyes close, and after that I couldn't remember anything.

When I woke up, I was strapped to a bed in what looked like a hospital room. Machines, tubes, and wires were hooked up to me.
"You're awake, good," Markus' cold voice said.
"I found him trying to escape sir," the man who tried to kill me from earlier said.
"Who are you?" I asked weakly.
"Shut up,"
"Now, now, Gizmo, you can't be this harsh on him," Markus laughed.
"I'll be whatever the hell I want," Gizmo said.
"Go back to work," Markus hissed.
I could tell that Markus was now annoyed. I turned my head to the side and saw a glass bowl. In it were two large bullets. They were covered in blood. I knew that that was my blood.
"How did I survive?" I asked, nervous to hear the answer.
"You're a fighter, that seems to be something. I don't think you would've died if Gizmo found you even three hours after he shot you. I have a theory that you are too strong to be killed by simple man made machines Joel. No, you'd need the power of a thousand soldiers to get you to the ground, and even then you'd still live. You are a remarkable human being," Markus explained.
"Did you order Gizmo to kill me?" I asked.
"That means nothing," Markus brushed it off.
"No, I said: Did you order Gizmo to kill me?" I asked firmly, and this time I wanted an answer.
Markus turned around, and stared at me for a long time.
"No," he finally said.
"I have a hard time believing you anymore," I spat.
"I said no! You stubborn little nuisance! You kill two of my best workers, run away, and after all I've done for you Joel! You're ungrateful-"
"Ungrateful!" I felt like killing him now, "I am UNGRATEFUL?! I was forced to be tested on! I was attacked by your goons! You ordered Mikey to be killed! You've been running a corrupt experiment right under the government's noses! And you call me ungrateful!"
Markus pounded his fist against the medical table, then he huffed and slammed the door as he stormed out the room. I loosened out of the straps, and began destroying everything. I smashed the tools, broke the glass, I let all my rage out on the room. I grabbed the glass bowl with the bullets, flung the metal shards at the door, and then threw the glass bowl on the floor. I stepped on it, screaming with every step.
I had officially lost it. I was sick of Markus and his silly mind games, I was sick of everything. I longed to be home with my mom, I wanted my father back. I wanted to see my annoying little sister, I missed my creepy sun, my robot assistant, Mikey, my school, that robot principal, everything. Strangely enough, I missed the old man at the motel, Silent Night, and even Ron and Sparks, whom I killed myself. I wanted to be my old self again. My scraped metal fingers represented who I was now, and I could never go back to the way I was once. I would never be able to go back in time, and fix everything I did the day I met Ron and Sparks.
I wished I could go back and not stop at all those stores, go straight home, avoid creepy men, tell the authorities. I wished I called the police instead of stand there forever staring at my fallen friend. I regretted everything in such a short span of time. I sat down on the bed and tore at the pillow, tears streaming down my face and pooling on the ground. The glass that I smashed was strewn everywhere, the beautiful crystals that made up such a large ugly bowl, destroyed by me. I was a destroyer, I let so many things happen, and I couldn't even escape. If only I hadn't stopped at that destroyed town, I would've escaped. I suddenly realized what I was forgetting. My hands searched my pockets, and sure enough there were the weapons I took. None of them searched me. I felt a sliver of hope. I still could escape this prison. I heard the door open, and I looked away, ashamed at the damage I caused.
"What happened here?" A voice called out.
"Go the hell away," I barked.
"Markus is gonna be pissed!"
"Good! Let the dog feel my wrath. Oh and tell him his precious antique chair will be history if I don't get out of here," I shouted.
I looked at the figure standing at the door. The hair and eyes were all so familiar.
"Mikey?" I asked.
The person gasped, and started out the room, running.
"Wait!" I shouted chasing after him.
Sharp bolts of pain shot through my leg and arm, but I was too excited to notice them. Eventually I caught up to him.
"What do you want?" He asked.
"Mikey! It's me Joel! Don't you recognize me?" I asked, excited and nervous.
"Joel? You don't look like Joel to me..." Mikey said.
"No Mikey it's me! I've missed you so much! I thought you were dead!" I laughed, the tears now of happiness.
My heart filled with hope and joy, surprise, sorrow, it all came at once.
"How are you still alive? You were dead! Mikey, I thought you were gone!" I laughed.
"Surprise!" Mikey waved his hands around.
"How did you survive?" I asked.
"I don't know," Mikey said.
"I don't care, I just want to know how you're feeling!" I grinned.
"What the hell happened to you?" He asked.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, a little afraid at that point.
"You might wanna look in the mirror some time man, because you look freaking hideous!" Mikey said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
Now I was afraid.
"Come with me," Mikey said.
We entered the bathroom. I felt my heart beat rapidly.
"What is-" I said staring at the mirror.
I felt my hand shoot up to half of my face. The skin and flesh now was replaced with metal. I screamed at the sight, but my scream was more mortified than anything else. Half of my face was metal. My eye was red, there was an absence of an eyebrow and eyelashes. My mouth on the metal side was a straight, skinny rectangular line.
"What did they do to me?" I asked, not even recognizing my own voice.
I heard the artificial voice interfere with my real voice. I tried crying, but tears only fell on one side of my face.
"Joel, what did Markus do?" Mikey asked, touching my elbow.
I felt rage replace my fear. Markus would have to pay for what he did to me.
"Come. With. Me," I said firmly to Mikey.
He didn't question me, which I was glad of.
"We have a lot of catching up to do," Mikey halfheartedly grinned.
"I don't have time for catching up Mikey. I have to get out of here," I said.
"Didn't you try already? You'll just get killed by Gizmo this time," Mikey said horrified.
"Mikey, if I had a plan last time I would've made it, but now I have a plan. This time nothing, not even this Gizmo guy, will stand in my way," I hissed.
"You've changed, other than your face," Mikey said.
"I know, I think I like the change," I stated.
"Joel, didn't you kill those two guys?" Mikey asked.
"Why do you care?" I looked at him.
"Because, I mean, I'm just concerned that you've become a crazy psychopath," Mikey said.
"Well I'm not," I replied.
Mikey said nothing after that. Honestly, I know I changed, for the better maybe.
"We're here," I announced.
I knocked on the door.
"Markus open the door or I'm gonna destroy it!" I warned.
The door swung open, revealing Markus. His human face looked like it wanted to kill me. His robot one, that one had no emotions anyways.
"What do you want Joel?" Markus asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
"What did you do to me?!" I pointed at my face.
"That is just a part of the Phase," Markus said.
"I agreed to just a little bit of me being a robot. I didn't agree to my face becoming one! I will kill every single one of your workers here, unless you can turn me back!" I shouted.
"Joel I don't believe you have it in you," Markus said.
"I do, believe me hell yes I do," I stomped my foot.
Markus, for the first time I think, felt fear. For the first time since he met me, he was truly afraid of what I could do. He knew that once I killed Ron and Sparks. He confirmed it when I survived two sniper shots, and still ran for a while. He never knew what I could do, and now he was going to pay.
"Let me see what I may do," he managed to say.
"Oh no Markus, you're going to do exactly what I want," I spat.
I was tougher than when I first arrived. I was a scared little brat who was concerned about being a lab rat. Now I was a lion who wouldn't stop at nothing to get out. I wasn't afraid of Markus anymore. He was weak. He liked to intimidate, and that wasn't working on me anymore. I knew I was stronger than him and all his workers. Like he said, it'd take an army to bring me down.
"But you don't understand Joel, I need you-"
"No, I don't think you heard me then. I want you to give me my face back. I'm not going to be a freak like you, no not in a million years," I said.
Markus went over to his desk, he opened a drawer and pulled out a small tube. It looked like tiny pills.
"Since you volunteered to test out my newest creation, here," he handed me one.
"Seriously?" I asked.
"Joel, this is my newest experiment. Reversing the effects of cyborg transformers," Markus said.
I was skeptical, but I actually liked my arms and legs.
"I just want to change my face," I stated.
"All right all right! Just take the freaking pills already!" Markus hissed.
I swiped the pill from his hand and downed one. Instantly I felt a shocking, yet calming sensation overcome my body. It was like the opposite of becoming a cyborg.
"Why would you make a reverse pill Markus?" Mikey asked.
"Simple, I'm not satisfied with what it does," Markus said.
After the episode passed, I reached up to my face. I felt my flesh and skin again. The robot face was gone. Now I was better.
"Joel, your face is back!" Mikey laughed.
I nodded, then gave Markus one disgusted glare, and walked off. I had to get out. I know I've said it before, but now I was serious. Markus made one grave mistake. That city was just a cover up, because nothing from thousands of years back could've survived this long, especially in Minnesota, one of the most growing states ever. And his second grave mistake was allowing Gizmo to shoot me, because now I knew where he shot from, and now I knew all his weapons.
Gizmo used an antique gun, probably from the 30's. Now by that, I mean 3030's. It had a large shotgun like bullet, and the bullet was cheap. It wouldn't be able to kill me, just spook me. He fired at a northwest tree, northwest to the tree I was at. He was a bad shot, and couldn't aim right. I figured he was blind in one eye, and most likely on the verge of being deaf. He wore very bright clothes for camo, and his boots were antique as well, easy to spot their prints anywhere. In order for him to find his way places, he had to know where he was.
This was done by him marking the trees. Something I hadn't really paid any attention to was the scraped trees. They were done by an ax or hatchet. Easy to recognize. He liked to hunt, and he lived in the fake town back there. Gizmo was smart, but not enough to outsmart me. I would be able to recognize him. He was probably in his fifties, an old soul for sure. His voice gave it away. He wasn't a cyborg, his voice was normal. I would be able to detect the artificial tone in his voice from a mile away if it existed.
Markus either wanted me to know all this, or he just underestimated me. I knew he wasn't convinced I was smart, but when the time was right I would get out of here, and he wouldn't know what hit him.

Finished: Chapter 11

I snuck through the hall way. I tip toed past cells and rooms. I had to know where Sparks was. I went up to Markus' office. Then thought better of it. If he was in there, he might stop me. Then again, I could find out where he placed the cameras. I shook my head. He didn't care what I did to Sparks anyways. I ran downstairs, and looked through every hall way. He was no where in sight. Instead, I found him standing outside the weapons room, a horrified expression on his face. So they didn't take Ron's body, they just left it there.
"Sparks!" I shouted.
"Joel, take a look at this," he said.
I walked over to him, caution in my every step.
"What's wrong?" I asked, even though I knew what was bugging him.
Inside the weapons room, Ron's body laid slouched on a rack. His face looked worse than when I left him.
"Who could've done this?" He asked.
"I don't know, bring him out here so we can look," I suggested.
"Okay," Sparks said as he went in.
Ron looked beyond dead. His face looked horrified, like he was in the middle of screaming. Really he was gasping, but it didn't matter.
"Somebody used a heart preserver on him, and it worked this time," Sparks said.
"What?" I asked.
"Heart preservers never work," Sparks looked confused.
So Markus wasn't lying about Mikey... was he?
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Remember Mikey? Yeah, well it never worked on him. It looks like whoever did this to him made it work," Sparks expained.
"Mikey's alive?" I asked.
"I don't know what happened to him," Sparks replied.
How did the heart preserver work with me? I have nothing to do with it!
"You know how a heart preserver works? Well it pricks your finger when you use it, and it uses your blood to activate. Then if the blood works, the heart is extracted and kept inside a chamber," Sparks said.
"Oh," I replied.
I did recall feeling a slight pinch whilst using it, but I never paid much attention to it.
"Joel, we have to tell Markus," Sparks said.
"He knows," I said.
"What?" He asked.
I had to do it, I had to kill him now. But for some reason, something was stopping me.
"What?" He asked again.
I grabbed the heart preserver from my pocket and ran at him. In his eyes there was this knowing that I did it. I pressed a button, it pinched my finger, and I slapped it on Sparks' arm. He didn't try to stop me.
"I'm sorry," I said.
I grabbed the device, but Sparks slapped it out of my hand. I ran towards it, but he smashed me to the ground. I tried to reach the remote, but I was too far away. I kicked him between the legs and he began howling in pain. I then threw him off of me. I stood up and ran towards the remote again, this time he fired something at me. I ducked, and saw a bullet fly. He was trying to shoot me.
Shot after shot. It made it impossible to grab the remote. He was only delaying his death. I tried to find out where the shots were going, but one was close to my leg. It barely skimmed it, leaving a trail of my blood. I ran into the weapons room, and grabbed a laser gun. I fired at his arm, and he screamed. It wasn't a pretty sight. Electricity was flowing through his arm. He collapsed, the gun flew from his hand. I grabbed it and aimed it at him.
"You know that you can't do it," he hissed.
"You're right, which is why I won't," I said.
I threw the gun out the window, and the glass smashed everywhere. It hit into both of us, leaving us scratched and bleeding. He stood up and ran at me, but slipped on the glass and smashed into me. We both went tumbling into the wall, which caused some blood to spread everywhere.
"This is disgusting," I hissed.
I stood up, and looked to my side. I noticed the remote, but a speck of blood was on it. I looked over at Sparks. He was lying face down, eyes wide open. Somehow the remote worked without me even touching it. I nudged him, but he didn't respond. I grabbed the heart preserver. Sure enough, Sparks' heart was in there. I threw it into the nearest trash chute, and looked out the window. It wasn't a large drop. I swung one leg out, and the other, then I jumped. I kept my mouth shut as I found myself falling on the ground.
Once my feet hit the ground, I began running. I ran, I don't know where I was going, but I was running somewhere. I was running away from the cyborg experiment and Markus.

Finished: Chapter 10

My plan had been working out, but now it seemed that Markus was on to me. If he was, he had no intention of stopping me, which was weird. I closed my eyes, and leaned my head back, trying to get some sleep. They had transferred me to a medical ward to see if I was injured, but I was just fine. My new cyborg features really helped out. I wanted to throw their useless wires off of me, and I wanted to run, but Sparks was still here. If by any chance I escaped, Markus would send him to get me. If I could take down Sparks, he'd have to send someone not ready for the job. The job to take care of me of course. I felt something pulse in my pocket. I quickly pulled it out. It was the device I used to kill Ron. The problem was, it appeared that the heart was somehow in there. I noticed a button on the side, so I pressed it. It quickly opened and revealed a heart, fully in tact. Ron's heart. I placed the tool on the bed. This was no heart stopper, it preserved the hearts, leaving the person in a state of stasis.
The heart was red and pulsing, slowly but it was pulsing. I grabbed a glove from the side table, and removed the heart from the tool. I looked around and found a trash chute. I wouldn't let them bring him back. Never would I. I went through all that trouble to kill him, and to have him come back, would really suck. I placed the heart in a bag, and put it in the trash chute. I closed the tool up, and placed it back in my pocket. I would have to remember that detail next time I used it on someone.
I closed my eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.
I had a dream last night:
I was back home. It seemed to be a snowy day. It never snowed in Cleveland, oh well.
"Joel, could you get the cookies!" My mother called out.
My father was reading the news on his phone. My sister was watching some weird kid show. I grabbed the cookies and put them out on the table.
"I have to get going," my dad looked up at my mom.
"Come on dad, stay just five more minutes!" I begged.
He closed his eyes and sighed, "Alright, just five more minutes."
I grinned and swiped a cookie before my mother noticed. She was having guests over, but I seriously doubt they would eat all of the cookies. So I took the liberty of taking a few off their hands. Some of her friends could use the diet.
"Joel, stop eating cookies!" My sister, Julie shouted.
"Joel..." My mother warned.

I then woke up. That was strange. My father had never read the news before. It had to be just a fabrication of my mind. I swung my legs over the bed. I thought of my father. I could barely remember his face. I couldn't remember his face much, but I could remember he worked too much. He would be home when we were asleep, and he had always been so serious about his job.
I looked over at the clock. It was four in the morning. I knew now was the time to kill Sparks.
Part two of part one was about to be in full swing.

Finished: Chapter 9

Escape, escape, escape. What would it take for me to escape? I would need a plan. I was not a plan master, but I had gotten this far. Markus was not in today, but Ron and Sparks were still here. They wouldn't let me pass out the doors without interrogating me for hours, unless I escaped through the small hole in my cell. Even that could be a long shot. I contemplated everything I could do and decided on one. I would take out Ron and Sparks. They deserved revenge for what they did to Mikey, and I was still convinced he was dead. I remembered the tool I stole from the weapons room. I planned it out:
First I would take both of them out when they aren't around each other. If they were separated, that would be better. I would kill them both and shove them in the trash compactor. I had to get rid of them before somebody noticed they were gone. Then there was the subject of cameras and security. I knew this place would have cameras in places that nobody knew, and I would have to hope that the cameras won't be a problem in my escape. Second I would steal as many weapons as possible. I would need those especially now that I have the device. I can go to that stupid police officer and show him that the weapons do exist. He would regret ever making me a fugitive.
My thoughts were interupted by a large bell ringing. Instantly, people began walking towards the lunch room. Lunch time would be a perfect time to execute my plans. Then again, too many people. This would be a perfect time to find the cameras actually. If I can find those, then my job is ten times easier. I began to walk with the crowd when I saw something. I noticed Mikey. His hair was lost in the crowd of black. I closed my eyes and shook my head. When I opened, Mikey's hair was gone. I was convinced I was imagining things. I know Mikey died, and that's that. Nothing Markus said would make me change my mind. I thought about what I would do next time I confronted Markus. I had to know why he wanted me so badly. I walked off towards the rest rooms, but took a sharp left towards the weapon room.
"Please insert card or ID," The machine said.
"Stupid robot," I hissed.
I punched in my old ID, but it was denied. Then I punched in random letters and numbers. Eventually, I had backed up the computer so much, it broke and the door slid open. I walked in and stood at the side. I scanned the room. I would need a brain fryer, it was useful in many situations.
I snuck back out of the room, hoping nobody noticed, but I was wrong. Ron was standing there impatiently.
"Done browsing?" He asked.
My eyes went wide, "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me, I know you took some things in there," Ron replied.
I didn't want to use the new weapons, I had to save them for something important.
I felt the whole world move backwards as Ron's fist flew into my gut. Even though it wasn't as bad as if I were all human, it still hurt.
I kicked at Ron's leg, still wary of the pain.
"AGH!" He hissed.
I tackled him to the floor. He tried to escape, but my grasp on him was too strong. I wasn't sure if I was up to the challenge, but I had to get rid of him soon.
He kicked me off, and I found myself flying into the wall. No, the weapons room. I smashed into a rack of laser guns. I groaned at the pain, and staggered up to regain my footing. Ron was already getting ready to attack, but I ducked in time, and tackled him. He crashed into some shelves. He was pulling at my hair, but i was a boy, I barely had any hair. I punched his chin, and he screamed.
I stood up and ran out the room. I tried to lock it, but the computer was dead. Ron was stumbling out, and he swung at me, but his fist met the computer screen instead. Hundreds of pieces of glass and wiring flew everywhere. The chip was on the floor now, so I smashed it. Ron collapsed to his knees, panting. I kicked his arm, and he flew into the wall on impact. There was a large gash on the side of his face extending from the eyebrow down to the chin. Blood was dripping on the floor, leaving bright red spots.
"So you're human?" I asked.
"The hell did you think I was?" He sat up against the wall.
I stepped back, but he stood up immediately. He then swung at me with his bloody knuckles. I literally scratched his hand, and now there was a large gash going down the middle. He cursed and shook his hand. He wiped it against his suit, and now there was a stain on it.
"Way to waste your suit!" I hissed.
"Shut the hell up!" Ron kicked my leg.
I felt unphased by his attack, and I kicked him in the gut, and gave him a good uppercut. He wiped his hand against his mouth. His gums were slightly bleeding, and there was a trickle of blood going down his chin.
"Give up yet?!" I hissed.
"Screw you," he spat.
His breathing became shorter, and it looked like he was barely clinging on to life. I would keep attacking him, but it looked like he was in too much pain. I removed the heart stopper device from my pocket and placed it on him.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"I'm sorry," I said pressing the button.
He gasped, but then collapsed on his side. I removed the device from him, and left behind was the same mark they gave Mikey.
"I'm sorry Ron, but I had to do this," I said.
I actually began to feel bad about what I did. Then again, he helped kill two people, and I only gave him what he deserved. I dragged Ron into the weapons room, and placed a heart shaped object, and laser gun in his hand. The least I could do is make it look like he killed himself. I looked around, and walked into the restroom. There was some blood on my face, but a quick wash revealed that it wasn't mine. I sighed and sat against the wall.
Step one of my plan was almost complete. I knew Sparks was going to be a challenge to beat, but if I could take out Ron, I could take out Sparks for sure. He was tough, but that was only what he appeared to be. I didn't know his true character, or how good he really was.
I stepped out of the restroom. BU was examining the weapons room. I gasped, and ran the other way. If BU knew, he'd run to Markus, and then Markus would probably kill me. I kept running, but speak of the Devil, I bumped into Markus.
"Quite a show you put on," he cocked his head.
"W-what?" I asked.
"Come with me," he said grabbing my arm.
He led me to his office and turned a monitor on. It was showing the fight between Ron and I. Those cameras, I knew they were going to be a problem.
"I should congratulate you, and I will," he grinned.
"I killed a man," I stared at him in disbelief.
"You displayed some strength out there. I don't think it will be a problem for you to beat the police now," he replied, obviously ignoring me.
I said nothing, fear was taking over me now.
No, you've done the impossible, you can do it. You will bust out of here, I thought.
"Enjoy the rest of your day," Markus said, turning around to watch the monitor.

Finished: Chapter 8

Getting used to my new robot limbs would not be an easy task. I couldn't tell what things felt like anymore. Human limbs were much more effective than these useless machine parts. Markus had been testing my ability to move with my new limbs for a while now, and quite frankly, I'm extremely sick of it. I can't tell what pain is anymore, and I actually began to miss that. Being a machine, even part machine, was terrible. I felt depressed for days on end. Markus wouldn't stop his testing no matter what though.
Today, he was going to test more cyborg changers on me. They were pills. I had to chew them, that's what he said at least.
"Now all I want you to do is chew these and we'll be all done today," Markus handed me the pills.
I took them and took a long look at them. They were shaped like capsules. I dumped them in my mouth, and the same sensation that changed my arms happened again. This time it wasn't as shocking as last time. Instead, my legs felt like they were being ripped apart and molded into something completely different than what they should be.
"Good, now how do you feel?" Markus asked.
"Like trash, thanks," I hissed.
"Still a bright soul I see," Markus said sarcastically.
After his test was over, I began to try to move in my robot legs. I didn't want my face to be changed, but then again, my ID and phone were erased when my arms formed into machine, I don't think that it would be too hard to just escape. Nobody would recognize me anymore, I don't think even my mother would. I walked towards the lunch room.
I usually went in there to think. It was my personal spot, and all the workers knew not to bother me when I was here. I respected them for that. I felt bad for them too. They were forced to do these things, and some were forced to go through these terrible tests. Today I decided to revisit a topic I had long forgotten about- Mikey. I was convinced he was dead. He had no pulse, half an hour, there was no way he was still alive. I knew Markus was lying. There was no way that he could've survived that long. They stopped his heart, simple as that. Then without blood to keep circulating, his brain stopped functioning. I decided to go see if there was a weapon like the one they used on Mikey.
I followed Ron and Sparks around. I hoped they would lead me blindly to the weapons, and sure enough they did. I hid behind a rack of laser guns, and waited for them to leave. Then I went investigating. They had just about everything here. Guns from 2060, brain fryers, and the mysterious heart stoppers. I picked it up. It had a heart with a slash through the center. I knew this was the very weapon they used on Mikey. Something about the way it felt made me have this gut feeling that he died at the hands of this machine.
I inspected it. It was not a weapon, that's why the officer had no knowledge of it. It seemed to be some sort of prisoner execution tool. I guess injections are long over. I figured that it was used in medical places as well, but then again, why would they stop a heart? They would want to keep it alive, right?
I shook the thoughts from my head, and slipped it and its parts into my pocket. Markus probably told me that Mikey was alive to convince me that he was good or something. I highly doubted it. I snuck out of the weapons room. Ron and Sparks were talking in the lunch room.
"How's it going Joel?" Sparks asked.
"Why should you care?" I asked.
"Yeesh, sorry man," Sparks rolled his eyes.
This was the first time I had seen them without masks all the time. They looked normal.
"Still getting used to your limbs?" Ron pointed at my arms.
"I suppose," I shrugged.
I walked off, today was not my day to sit and chat. Today was the day to get the hell out of this place.

Finished: Chapter 6

As we walked throughout, we were stopped by a robot.

"I will take it from here," the new robot said.

"Okay," Sparks and Ron handed me over. 

"Hello Joel Green. My name is BU-908. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them. I will be your tour guide," 

"Tour guide? Where am I?" I asked.

"Why the robot building facility! This is where all manufacturing of robots and military weapons are done. We also create new genetic engineering ideas, but that is in our west wing. I will just be showing you around the east wing, the robot facility," BU-908 said.

"Can I just call you BU?" I asked.

"No, no, no. My full name must be used at all times. This is to ensure that my serial number is known. It also helps avoid confusion," BU-908 replied.

"Alright, well can I remove my cuffs?" I asked.

"Of course not, that is not in my coding to do," 

I mumbled something under my breath, but followed the robot on the tour.

"Here is where we get all the knowledge for our robots!" BU-908 cheered excitedly.

He gestured towards a window. I looked inside. There were what appeared to be human brains inside incubators. There were large wires connecting the brain with a robot head. The head was still exposing its wires, indicating it was still in its early stages of production. There was no sign of human activity among the brain incubators, but behind a large steel plate and window was the control room. There were humans, they were pressing buttons, and appeared to be coding the robots. 

"As you can see, the only things the humans do is code the robots' facial features. Everything else is done entirely by machine," BU said.

"So why not just use only machines?" I asked.

"Machines are very unpredictable, and they have terrible taste in art!" BU laughed.

"I see," I nodded my head.

"Now for the assembling room! In here the robot heads are meticulously placed on the rest of the body," BU explained.

I peered through the window once more. The robot heads were being screwed on in lightning speed. I remember once reading about how slow machines were in the 2000s. Only until 3040 were machines actually fast enough to produce whole robots in less than five minutes.

"Where do you get the brains?" I asked.

"That is classified information. Only a production worker would know," BU responded.

I had always wondered why robots seemed so much like humans, and now I knew. They were programmed to have the qualities of a human. 

"Here we are!" BU knocked on a set of doors. 

A scanner appeared out of the door knobs.

"Please enter your serial number, or ID," it spoke. 

BU did his stuff, and brought my ID up on the screen. Then the doors opened revealing a large office room. There were large monitors showing the production process that we just saw. The monitors were everywhere, there wasn't a window in sight. In the center of the room was an antique leather chair, its back facing towards us.

"Leave us, BU-908," a voice called out.

"Yes sir!" BU said as he walked through the doors.

And with that, the mysterious man turned around. 

His face was ghastly. It was literally half machine half human. The machine side had a large circular red eye in place of a human eye. There was no hair on either side. The mouth on the robot side was that of a robot's. Straight and rectangular. The robot face was grey, with bolt seams going across the top, and the sides. The other side was a normal human, normal eyes, and normal mouth. No eyebrows, but there were eyelashes.
My heart felt like it skipped about twenty beats I was so afraid. He scared the hell out of me, and quite frankly, he was intimidating.  

"Good morning, Mr. Green," his elbows were propped up on the desk, and his fingers were intertwined together, kinda like the evil villain pose in old movies. He was leaned far into the desk. His voice was half artificial, with an echo to it. 

"Good morning..." I said, startled at his voice. 

"You must be startled at my apperance, well don't be. I am the first cyborg to ever exist. My name is Markus Holand. I am the CEO and founder of this building," his arms spread out revealing his large wingspan, and his robot arm. 

"So are you half machine?" I asked. Sweat began to form on my forehead, and I wiped it off. 

"Yes. In fact, half of my body is that of a robot. The other is normal human flesh," Markus nodded. 

"How is that possible?" I muttered, half close to running out of there.
"I know what you said. I have the superior hearing of a human machine combo. You may be wondering how exactly I could be this way, well it's simple. All my organs were encased in my robot interior, while my exterior is that of a human and machine. I am but a test. My company is now developing an improved cyborg," Markus chuckled as he spoke.

"Why are you telling me this? And why am I even here?" I asked.

"All in good time, but I am telling you for one reason. There is no reason. I have nothing to hide from you Joel. The only thing I have to hide is my reasoning for bringing you here. I would ruin the surprise I have in store for you, and to be honest... you're a fugitive. You can either stay here in my protection, or give me the word, and you're on your own. But I don't think Ron and Sparks would let you live," Markus grinned. 

"That's their names?" I asked.
"No, but I only refer to them by what you prefer. They have no names. They are mere test subjects in my cyborg project," Markus replied.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Oh Joel, a good magician never reveals his secrets. Now I am no magician, but I can assure you that a good manufacturer never reveals his secrets," Markus replied. 

I didn't like this guy. Something about him made me uneasy. The way he talked was so monotonous and cold, it made me shiver a thousand times. I wondered if he was really telling the truth. He also scared me. The way his face was made me want to run away. 

"Because, all of what happened is a misunderstanding!" I shouted.

"Ah yes, you know we did what we did for a reason," Markus said.

"What?"

"Ron and Sparks were ordered to kill Mikey, he would've gotten in the way of my plans. You are needed for my grand surprise. Enjoy your time here, for tomorrow I finally reveal what we have in store for you," 

Finished: Chapter 5

No way would I be able to get out of this mess. Sparks put his weapon in the pocket of the leather seat. I was shoved onto the window seat. Only a middle seat was separating me from Sparks. Ron climbed into the driver seat. His disinterest was almost scary.
"Which way?" Ron asked.
"I think right," Sparks replied.
"You think? That's a first," Ron snorted.
"Shut up you uptight weasel!" Sparks said, but the look in his eyes said that he wanted to kill every person in this hover car.
"Let's just pull it up on my phone," Ron double tapped his wrist veins, and the phone appeared in front of him.
"How did you guys find me?" I asked.
Sparks grabbed my wrist, and I knew exactly what he meant. They tracked my phone. Just as I feared, I knew that someone would find me because of that darned device.
"Don't even think about taking it out," Sparks chuckled as he spoke.
"Wasn't planning to," I shot back.
The hover car lurched forward, then squealed away.
"Sorry, Sparks usually drives," Ron shrugged.
I rolled my eyes, and turned my head to look out the window. The city was far behind us now. I sighed silently and felt a tear roll down my cheek. I wiped it quickly.
"You must be excited," Sparks said sarcastically.
"Oh yeah. Totally over joyed,"
"Joel, that's your name right? Well anyways, if the boss-"
"Hey! I don't care anymore! You have put me through hell and back! First you kill my best friend, and I take the hit for your crimes! Second of all you kill an innocent man for trying to help me! I can't believe you!? Now you're probably telling me to stay calm! Well I won't!" I kicked the back of Ron's seat.
"Woah there! Calm your self! I wasn't saying stay calm! I was gonna tell you that the boss might actually take a liking to you! He did with another guy, it's not unlikely. You are tough, the boss loves that in people," Ron said.
"Listen, so I don't keep calling you two Ron and Sparks, what are your names?" I asked.
"We don't have any," Ron said.
"How?" I asked.
"We we're never given any, but I like the sound of Sparks,"
"Oh," I shrugged.
For some reason, I was becoming close with the people who killed Mikey, but then a though occurred. What if these guys were robots? What if they are controlled by an outside force? Then again, it seemed like they had a mind of their own. I had to remember in this era, robots were like humans. They only looked different. I tried to see if anything about them was robot like, but they seemed perfectly human.
"We're almost there," Ron announced.
"Thanks for stating the obvious," Sparks hissed.
"Why are you so stupid?" Ron asked.
"Why are you so stuck up?" Sparks replied.
I groaned and banged my head silently against the window. I was annoyed, and afraid. Nothing could solve this situation. When I opened my eyes, I saw open field, but the car seemed to go through some force barrier. Then I saw what we were headed to.
It was a giant building. Blue streaks of electricity were going through it. It was as large as Cleveland. Hover cars were strewn all over the parking lot. Next to the larger than life building was a manufacturing plant. The main part of the building was taller than the eye could see. I couldn't comprehend how this was hidden from anyone. A smoke stack, which I haven't seen in years, was not shooting out smoke. No, it was blue puffs. It looked like electrically charged smoke.
"Welcome home," Ron laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Sparks said.
The door opened, and Sparks grabbed me again. They dragged me out of the car seat, and towards a giant sliding door. When we entered, the sight was breath taking. What appeared to be the building seal, was printed on the floor. The floor was really shiny, like it had been cleaned a million times that day. There were doors to enter into offices, and there was a large desk in the middle of the entrance way.
"ID?" The robot at the desk asked.
Ron and Sparks showed their wrists, then they removed my cuff and threw my wrists forward. The robot looked at them skeptically, but Ron seemed to strike some sort of fear in his robot core.
After we went through security, the cuffs were placed back on.
"Is this necessary?" I asked.
"What?" Ron replied.
"The cuffs? Are they really necessary?"
"Yeah," Sparks grunted.
A large screen showed a major news network, and large holographic paintings of the building during the process were everywhere. The slogan of the place was:

We are not afraid

We are the feared

The government reigns

Through our support

Our strength is what keeps us alive

In us we trust

In machines we believe

Finished: Chapter 4

Silent Night had been gone for hours. I began to worry that he was tricking me and leaving me for the cops. I gulped, and looked around. The sun was just slightly peaking over the horizon. I heard someone approaching, and I slowly turned around. Silent Night was standing there with some keys.
"Is you ready?" He asked.
I nodded my head, glad that he didn't turn on me.
"Yous must know I's be getting me self in a lots of trouble," Silent Night spoke.
"I know, but it's your job. Don't act like you haven't done this before," I spat.
He grunted, but said nothing. I never trusted people like that, but this was my only oppourtunity to get out of Cleveland. I had to leave, otherwise those men would return. And this time, it would be me.
Walking with Silent Night made me feel like a criminal. I was wanted, but I wasn't guilty of anything. I hadn't comitted a crime, not until just now anyways. We walked towards a large marina. Cleveland was filled with marinas that carried into the lakes. Some marinas were older than anything here. Some were new. We apprached a creepy looking one with worn out, outdated boats. Their sleek design had to have been nice at the time, but now, they just looked like a clown roadshow. The boats were not large, not like today's boats anyways. Nowadays, the boats were as big as the main building. Not literally, but they were big.
Silent Night hopped onto the boat, and I got on too. The boat smelled like rot and dust. I had to contain myself from throwing up.
"We's be headed out here in no time," he announced.
I placed my arms on the side of the boat. The sun had shone a light glow on the whole marina, which didn't really help. It just made it look more scary. I noticed two figures walking. Their silhouettes were the only visible thing about them. I gulped, instantly afraid that these were the same men who killed Mikey.
As they approached the boat, I recognized them. The two killers who got away with it.
"We need to go..." I whispered hoarsely.
"You says something?"
Too late, by the time I opened my mouth, they were standing on the boat. This time it wasn't the same weapons they used last time. The weapons looked like guns, but I recognized them from a movie I saw. They were brain destroyers.
Brain destroyers are complex weapons that send giant bursts of electricity through the body. They literally fry the neutrons, putting the victim into shock and causing them to go brain dead. I was never so afraid before in my life. The heart stopping tool was bad enough, I wouldn't want to have my brain fried!
"What does you fools want?" Silent Night pointed a laser gun at them.
The two masked figures shook their heads and erupted into laughter.
"He knows," one of them gestured towards me.
"Who is these men?" Silent Night asked.
"They're the ones responsible for killing Mikey, my friend," I explained.
"Now listen old man," one of them turned towards Silent Night, "We know who you are, and all we care about is the kid. So hand him over, and you'll live."
"Disobey, and you'll die," the other one snickered.
Silent Night said nothing, but he aimed his laser gun at one of the men. I wanted to warn him, tell him they were too good to be beat, but a horrible shriek erupted from the boat. Silent Night collapsed, clutching his chest with one hand, and his head with another. Smoke was pouring from the brain destroyer.
"I told him," the one who fired shrugged.
Silent Night began wailing. He was on the floor rocking back and forth on his side. The bursts of electricity shocked his body. Eventually, he let out a terrible scream and he stopped moving.
"We figured our next victim should die much terribly than good old Mikey," the man who fired laughed.
"Who are you?! What do you want from me?!" I shouted.
"Listen, I get it, two of your best friends gone within the course of two days. Shocking. Not enough kid, if you don't come with us, it'll be worse. Who knows, maybe we'll go for your mom and sister. It all depends on who's life you care about the most," the man who fired said.
I instantly decided to call one Sparks, and the other Ron. I don't know why, but not having a name to identify these guys with bothered me.
"Now what'll it be?" Ron asked.
"If I comply with your terms, you'll leave my family?" I asked.
"Sure," Sparks snorted.
"I won't come if you don't follow out on your promise!" I hissed.
"They need him, can't have him running all over the place," Ron spat at Sparks.
"I just fried that Silent Night to nothing, he'll be a piece of cake," Sparks growled.
"I don't care what achievements you've accomplished in your life! He needs the boy and that's that!" Ron shouted.
"Fine, but he can't know where we're taking him," Sparks said.
"It doesn't matter, he'll probably be dead before sunset anyways," Ron approached me.
"Why do you want me dead?" I backed away.
"Oh, I don't care about who the hell you are kid. I just work for someone who has a hell of a lot of interest in you," Ron pulled out electric cuffs.
"What are those for?" I asked.
"If I told you, you'd look stupid. Now hand me your arms," Ron said.
I held out my hands, and he clamped them with the electric cuffs.
"Good boy, now that wasn't so bad now, was it?" Ron asked.
"Shut up," Sparks hollered.
Ron grabbed me roughly by the upper biceps and half-dragged me to what looked like a hover car.
Sparks leaned down, close to my ear and said, "If you ever escape, don't say a word to anyone. We know you told those police, and we warned you. If it were up to me, you'd be dead, but you're lucky it isn't up to me."

Finished: Chapter 7

I woke up, startled from my sleep. BU was at the cell door, pounding hard.
"Stop disrespecting the metal!" I shouted drowsily.
"Nonsense, metal does not feel anything. It is an abiotic object," BU rolled his robot eyes.
"Sorry, just a bit sore," I said glancing at my wrist.
"Ah yes, today you get them removed!" BU smiled.
"Really?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
"Yes, Markus has decided so," BU replied.
I finally had some hope. If I was going to get the cuffs removed, I could finally move. BU opened the cell, and grabbed my wrists. He unlocked the cuffs, and I stretched. It had been forever since I had stretched. I actually realize how I took it for granted.
"Wait, how did you take my cuffs off? You said you couldn't!" I stammered.
"Enough games, Markus needs you!" BU grabbed my hand and dragged my out of my cell.
Men that looked like Ron and Sparks were everywhere. The place was crawling with them.
"Hello Joel," Sparks' gruff voice called out.
I tried not to respond, afraid that he would say or do something.
"C'mon, it's rude not to answer me," Sparks grinned.
"Hello," I hissed finally.
"Good, you're finally learning etiquite," he laughed as he patted my head.
"Don't touch me," I barked, and followed BU to what seemed to be a doctor's office.
"Enter here," BU gestured to a door.
Without question, I walked in. There was an antique doctor's chair, and a holographic chair. On the side were pills, computer chips, and injection needles. Markus entered the room, and slammed the door behind him, which made me jump.
"Do not be frightened," he said calmly.
"Sorry, just startled is all," I shrugged.
"Good, have a seat," he pointed towards the holographic chair.
"You must really like antique items," I pointed out.
"Yes, they are my prized possessions," he replied.
I felt a bit nervous as he typed some stuff up on the screen.
"Alright," he began, "Today we will just test some of these chips. They are unlike the ones that you ate for your phone. They may hurt though."
He grabbed four chips and handed them to me.
"What are these for?" I asked.
"What have you noticed from your stay here?" He asked.
"No way in hell am I becoming a freaky human lab rat for your cyborg stuff!" I shouted.
"Look, Joel, you must know how important this is to me!" Markus said.
"I don't care what it means to you! I am not becoming a test subject!" I said.
"It's not a guarantee that you will even become a cyborg!" Markus argued.
I was not convinced. First he killed Mikey, then Silent Night, now he was going to use me for his sick, twisted experiment. No way in hell was I going to let him.
"You've caused me too much sadness, and a hell of a lot of trouble. I want out of your game!" I hissed.
"This is the future, Joel! This is what could shape the future. Imagine America with an army of unbeatable humans! This could be the turning point in human and machine warfare!" Markus raged.
"There is nothing cool about turning me into a military weapon, it's just crazy like you," I replied firmly.
"You are too stubborn. This could make you almost immortal!" Makus said.
"Look, I get it, so much good in this program. But at the same time, you've killed two people, and put my family through pain to bring me. I don't know why you couldn't just pull some random prisoner, or some guy who doesn't have a life, I really don't understand why you chose me," I said.
 "I realize what you have been through may not be all that fun, but I chose you Joel. That should be enough to make you stay here," Markus replied.
"You just don't get it do you? I'm not doing it," I said.
"You are pushing me to my limits," Markus warned.
"And you pushed me beyond my limits when your goons took Mikey's life," I said.
"He's not dead you stupid boy!" Markus yelled.
"What?" I asked.
"Mikey. Is. Still. Alive." Markus said firmly.
"I saw those freaks take his life!" I stood up now.
"I know what you saw looked real, but his brain is still operating," Markus answered.
Of course, another tool that the government is creating to make better war machines.
"This is another cyber warfare thing, isn't it?" I asked.
"That is none of your concern, now eat the chips or I'll force them down your throat!" Markus thrusted his hands towards me.
I realized that I really have no choice anymore. I was to either be a cyborg, or rot in prison. I thought about it, I could use cyborg abilities to my advantage. I could escape this rotten place. I took the chips from his hand, and swallowed them. I felt a sudden tingle in my spine. My brain felt like it was pounding against my skull. It was swelling. I knew it. Bursts of electricity shocked my body. I wanted to gag, but I contained myself. My hands were twitching, my whole body was. My fingers were turning into metal. My arms were too, all the way up to the forearm.
"Not how it should've worked, but I suppose it works," Markus scratched his chin.
"You mean... something went wrong?" I replied.
"Possibly, or my idiot workers don't know how to code anymore," Markus said.
Just as quickly as the episode of flesh turning to metal came, it completely went away. I slightly lifted my shirt, and saw that my chest was now metal. I wanted to cry, scream, kick, run into my mother's arms, and complain like a baby. But I was here, no where near my mother. I was in some government facility, becoming a lab rat to some wacko scientist. I was turning into a machine, and I could never go back.
Never.

Finished: Chapter 3

The motel had a musty, small waiting room. I looked around. There were small paintings. I was surprised to see those. Usually art was holographic, or there was no art at all.
"Yes hello, how may I help you?" Asked the man at the front desk.
He was short, fat and had a large bald spot on his heard. He was wearing a tight shirt that showed off quite a bit of sweat around his armpits.
"I need a room for the night," I said.
"Yeah, sure, okay," he sighed.
"Do you need my ID?" I asked.
"No," he rolled his eyes.
I waited to see what's next, but he puffed a large, smelly breath of air and turned around. I tapped my fingers against my leg impatiently as I waited.
"Here's your room key," he said.
"Brush your teeth man," I mumbled under my breath.
I walked away looking for my room. It was the third one down. The hallway was damp and dark. I noticed how old fashioned this place was. I pressed the room key against the analyzer, and entered the room.
It, like everything else, was damp. The light switch didn't work, so I was left in the dark. There was one bed sitting in the middle of the room. The covers were covered in roses, and so were the pillows. There was a small desk along with a mini fridge. The bathroom was cold, and had a dim light. It looked like a public bathroom, but one that hadn't been clean for months.
"I really need to get out of here," I sighed.
I sat down on the bed, it was squeaky and wet. I yelped, and jumped off the bed. I knew I wasn't sleeping on that. I stood in the side of the room and pondered about what to do next. I could easily just leave, but then the police would find me. I had to leave Cleveland, that was most likely the only option. I would never get past security though! Unless the stories I heard are true...

See, there were rumors floating around that if someone wanted to leave, but they couldn't, they talked to a man called Silent Night. He was apparently the one to get you out without any complications. He was supposedly residing in Cleveland. I thought long and hard about it. If Silent Night could get me out of here, then he was my best bet. Then again, it could get me into more trouble. I left the room key on the bed, and opened the window. It was a first floor motel, so I broke the screen in between, and leaped out. I had suddenly become skilled in the art of sneaking off.
I saw the screens again. My face. I was innocent, I knew it. Nobody would believe me. Nobody would believe me, unless I caught the men who did it. Then they would believe me. They would be sorry, and put the real men in prison for their doings. Then who knows, they might get the death penalty.
But the only problem was, I couldn't find out who they were. Not unless they were parading around in whatever suits and masks they were wearing that day. I could hack into the police main frame and figure out if they had no record of the weapon or not, but that would be impossible. I had no knowledge of hacking. My father did though. He knew how to do everything. I suddenly found myself blaming him for this situation that I'm in. I felt that if he was still around, I would be safe and sound. He could disprove their claims of me being guilty. I then put the blame on me, if I had called the police immediately, then I wouldn't be in this mess.
I shivered in the cold, but began running. I didn't know where. I was just running. Possibly The Republic of France, or another state. The Republic of France is modern day Canada. After the Great War, the French took over Canada, and renamed it completely.
My mother had traveled to The Republic of France once, she said it was an interesting experience. I don't know what she meant, but I had a feeling I couldn't go there. I knew I had to stop thinking and make up my mind. I would leave Cleveland to start, and head my way somewhere along the United States.
I ran all night, stopping along the way at gas stations, and convenient stores. I asked about Silent Night, people said he lived by Lake Grande. Lake Grande is the new name of Lake Erie. Lake Grande was nearby, and I had about a few hours before sunrise. I began running, not minding my exposed face. I was already wanted, and maybe if I'm caught, I can re-escape.

After twenty minutes I found my self along the shore of Lake Grande. There was a lighthouse from thousands of years ago. Then I heard some man humming a strange tune. I was already fearless after my whole day, so I went up to the man.
"Do you know if Silent Night lives here?" I asked.
"Why do yous care?" He asked.
"I need to get out of here," I said as I sighed.
"Silent Night only helps for a real reason,"
"So you're Silent Night?" I asked.
"It matters not to yous, now state your business for wanting him,"
"I'm being framed for my friend's death. I'm wanted, and I want to get out of here and start a new life some place else," I explained.
If this man wanted to turn me in, he could do it now and I wouldn't care.
He stood up, "I see."
He was almost seven feet tall, and was really skinny.
"You have come to the right place. I am Silent Night," he took a bow.
"You are?" I asked.
"Look fool, I says who I is, and yous better listen, aright?" He hissed.
"Sorry," I said.
"Good, now let's sees what I's can do for yous. Yous says you wants to leave Cleveland, but yous don't want the new Frenchy place, amiright?" He asked.
"Yes sir, I can't go there,"
"Whys that?"
"Well, I'm afraid they are worse than anyone here to me," I said.
"I's can get yous to Colorado, but not farthers," he said.
"Really?" I asked with joy.
"Yes I cans," he nodded as he spoke.
"Then please do!" I cried.
"Aright, I's gots to pick up some items, sos you need to wait, aright?" Silent Night said.
"I have all day Silent Night," I replied.
"Good boy, It'll takes mes an hour or sos," he shrugged.
"Okay," I said.
With that, he walked off.