Time Department (Temp title)

Chapter 2: Our Intro is Over

   "I do not know."

   "You don't know?" Amos' expression became softly concerned.

   "No, I don't." Amos pulled a notebook out of his back pocket, flipping through it's organized pages.

  "What did you feel?"

   "feel?"

   "Did you feel sympathy for the child? Did you feel guilty because you knew his fate? Did you desire to help him?"

   Warren furrowed his brow as he thought, his expression soon softened. "I suppose I have to guess that I did feel that way." Amos swallowed.

  "He's defective." Ms. Serenity bellowed coldly. "We will need to repair Subject zero." Amos frowned and looked at his superior.

   "I don't feel that we need to perform such cruelty, he's been performing well for quite nearly hundreds of years."

   "If we want not to replace him he must be repaired!" The nurses, after Ms. Serenity pointed at Warren who still lay on the bed, bound his wrists and ankles to the bed. Warren gritted his teeth in his mouth.

   Amos stood. "Miss-"

   "We will prepare his rehabilitation in the performance room. Subject zero will be bound and become subject to a number of punishments and will be forced to have a refreshed understanding of his job." Amos' expression was soft and disappointed at his superior's decision.

   "Amelia, he may be of many years but he's still a child-"

   "He is not a child, Mr. Madopolis. He is a program, a machine of destiny, and he will do as he is told!" Ms. Serenity stormed out of the room with her nurses, Amos slowly followed. Warren's breath became heavy as he watched them - the cruel torture-like performance would last for hours without rest, he would not be provided any relief during the time, which might be repeated if he didn't pass as "stable".

   No, I'm not a robot, I won't be treated like one.

   After a short time of deep thought, Warren weakly managed to pull his IV from his wrist, and maneuvered it so he could pick the lock on one of his wrist binds. After one wrist was free, he picked the other locks and got out of bed. His body was very weak and he became disoriented as he stood, but managed to grab himself a small bag and fill it with clothes. He decided his rebellion toward Ms. Serenity would be to run away - perhaps this would teach them a lesson, and he could return without being harmed. He put on his cap and jacket, then sneakily left the large suite building. He made it out of the many floors Ms. Serenity and her organization owned and stepped into the hallways of the apartment suites. He hadn't seen these halls in many years because he wasn't allowed to leave the floors specified.

   An elderly woman opened her apartment door to retrieve the news paper, and spotted Warren in the hall, looking confused. She stood up more straight as she stared at him.
  "You're the boy from the upper floor aren't you dear..?" Her voice was feeble and deteriorated, she must have been around nearly 90. Warren turned his attention to her, she wasn't recognizable.

   "I think you might be mistaking me for someone else." Warren glanced behind him cautiously while at the same time listening for the elevator or stair doors.

   "I saw you many many years ago... You should be much older than you look." She glanced around the hallway. "You've been upstairs for many years haven't you..? Did they never let you leave..?" Warren looked the woman over.

   "When do you remember seeing me?"

   "I saw you more than fifty years ago, dear..." She didn't seem afraid or confused, even though this equaled as strange as it would be to talk to a ghost. "They kept you for years, didn't they? You have escaped. You must hurry, I've had words with the woman who keeps you, and she will not take this lightly." The old woman stepped back into her home and pulled money from her purse which lay on the hall tree. She turned and came back out of her apartment, placing cash in Warren's hands. Her hands were shaky and she seemed like she could barely walk. "Please take this and get going. You can take a bus downtown. Stay in the shadows, out of camera sight. Head 12 miles from the bus stop downtown, there you will find a family-run motel, there you can stay and find food." The old woman smiled.

   "...Why are you helping me?" Warren looked at the woman with a furrowed brow.

   "Why, you seem like you need help, and by the looks of the people you live with I feel so uneasy for your safety. I think about you almost dayly, and how I could have helped you the day I saw you."

   He leaned down and picked up her newspaper for her, placing it in her delicate hands. "I'm Warren..."

   "Oh, thank you dear... I'm Melody. Come see me again, it gets awful lonesome here." Melody smiled and glanced around the halls before stepping into her apartment and shutting the door. Warren shoved the money inside of his bag then hurried down the rest of the floors. He was blinded by the brightness of the afternoon sunshine against his face.

   For the first time since infancy, Warren was outside.