Revolt

7

Finally we get back to the mess of angels we had created. Jessica and Clara dive right in, spearing the corpses and draining them. When their capsules on their syringes are full, they snatch more off of the angels and continue stocking up.

I wonder if there are any splicers smart enough to figure out that their fellows are basically squishy sacks of Adam. Then our job would really be easy......oh wait......they just tried to kill us for our Adam, didn't they? They must've really liked each other not to outright kill each other over us......

Together, Clara and Jessica have collected about seven capsules of Adam from these angels. This might keep them for a while, if the other girls don't steal them first. I remember how much they picked on Amelia......

Rosie pushes me suddenly, bringing my attention back just before a headache sets in. I look at him. He kicked me last time- why?

Sam whirs and gets up between us, but Rosie holds up his hands as if he meant no harm. I look between them both, taking a step back, but Sam grabs my arm and I tense.

"Let go."
"Nw."
"Srm, wrt rw!"
"Nw, ur nr rwn'n awr!"
"But I want to run away! I don't want to be here, I don't want to look at your daughters and think of Amelia! I just want to die already!" It all sounds like gibberish and weird mechanical noises to them. This is pointless! This is painful! This isn't worth it- I'm not worth it! I failed, Amelia's gone, and all I am is dead weight to these guys why won't they just let me g-

....

....

["Wake up! Wake-the-hell-up!" Ron yells at me, hitting me with a pillow. I sit up quickly, freezing and soaked. ~Is there a leak in the cell again?~
"What- what?! I'm up!" I counter, fending off the pillow.
Ron sighs in relief. "You were having a nightmare- you scared the shit outta me! I hear you makin' all this racket and you're thrashing around like you're having a seizure or something, an-"
I grab his shoulders and try to calm him down. "Hey- hey! I'm alright, it was just a nightmare, like you said......"
Ron raises a brow, gesturing me to continue. I tell him everything- if I don't, he won't quit pestering me about it until I do.
"I......I dreamt about......the procedure......" I admitted.
"About it......going wrong?" Ron asked.
"No, it......it went fine, it just hurt a lot. That part was fine. The little sister I got assigned to was really sweet and shy......everything went fine, and I protected her for the rest of my life, but......"
Ron didn't look as relieved now. "The nightmare part......? Was it like last time?" He asked, his voice much softer now.
I nodded. "We're....we're never getting out of this, Ron......we're never going to be free, we're never going to have lives of our own......we're going to drown in those suits......"]

....

*fwoosh* *clank* *tink* *rattle* *fwoosh*

"Wrk uuuuuhp!!"

*fwoosh!* *clunk!* *RATTLE!* *FWOOSH!*

I come back to consciousness, thrashing in the water, Rosie trying to drown me. I try to kick him away but he holds on and- pulls me out of the water?

Clara and Jessica are gone, but Sam is here with Rosie. We're in one of the flood bays and they're both looking at me. I can't see their faces, but.......I feel like they're worried......

This is so strange......why would they worry about me?

Have I been wrong this whole time?

Were they're glares just.......concern?

Did I used to know them? How would they know it was me? They couldn't know it was me......

Wait......who is 'me'?

Sam and Rosie have finished checking me over for injuries and leaks, and Rosie sits me up and keeps a firm grip on my arm. "Wr hirr, dn't wrry, wr hirr......."
Sam holds my face- no, my helmet- in his hands and takes up my whole window staring me down. This feels so familiar......

"Awr rw awrite?"
Am I alright?
"I don't think so......."
Doesn't he remember? We're dying......

"Hr's diring fstr tn d-utrs," Rosie tells Sam. Sam points to the bronze plate on my left wrist that has my name on it- Theta. An oval with a goat's eye split, just my letter in the greek alphabet. Alpha, Beta, Theta. The Greeks were so good at naming things, weren't they?

Rosie gives my arm a squeeze. Oh......that's why he does that......when I zone out.......does he think I'll die at any second?

It's not the first time I'm wondering if he knows more than he lets on. Is he like me? Does he get these....confusion spells? These dizzying.....whatever they are?

Sam finally lets me have some space and Rosie pulls me to my feet. What Rosie said finally makes a bit of sense......I'm an alpha series, I'm older than they are. I'm not just dying because I've lost my daughter, I was never built to last this long anyways. I'm not even that old, really, but the suit and the Adam takes a toll.......our hours are all numbered, but mine are slipping away faster than theirs are.

"Lst dyz- wr jud dw smting," Rosie suggests. Sam bounces a bit, his way of nodding.

Are we going to do something? What is there to pass the time? I guess we do have some time, since Clara and Jessica have so much Adam now......

What the heck. I don't have long anyways- this could be fun, even.
"Grlz rwr grrd wn anzrlz, wr hvvv dyyz," Sam encourages. I stand a bit straighter.
"I know just the place."