Bold Words

Day 10: Memory - Title - Rest

His arms gently lowered, rolling the precious cargo into the sorry excuse for a bed below. Box springs that were rusted stuck out of the flat mattress. If he wasn’t so exhausted, he was sure that Emery wouldn’t be able to sleep at all. His fingers carefully reached for the blanket and pulled them up over his companion, staring at the brunette below for a moment longer before he dared to leave his side.

Dent never understood why Emery would go to such a crazy extent for him—and believe, him he knew it was crazy. As cocky as he came off, as much as it seemed like he didn’t really have a brain in his head, Dent knew just about everything that Emery was sacrificing for him—and for what? So he could have a few new parts? Dent pressed the switch against the wall outside Emery’s sleeping quarters, closing the door for what little privacy they could actually manage in this used up shack of a house. The least he could do is let the man rest for a while.

His glowing blue eyes flipped about the workroom. The scrap metal, the broken arm that laid out on the table and all the smaller pieces of circuitry that made this room look just as messy as the Pit. He rolled his newly updated arm in it’s socket, his entire body felt great, greased up and smooth, but he couldn’t help the heaviness he felt, staring at all the parts. The tools that should have been used to work on Emery. He was getting skinnier, his cheeks were looking hallow and Emery was always so exhausted. It wasn’t like he couldn’t read Emery’s life signs either.

Dent ran his fingers over the edge of the work table as he walked around it. His eyes followed along the tools scattered about the room. There were clothes in random piles, discarded from random bouts between them that were just never picked up again. His eyes flickered to the tablet on the corner of the tablet. His fingers reached for it, flipping it on and glancing at the title that flashed across the screen.

All about Skywall.

His fingers tightened around the small device as he just stared at the screen. His circuitry sparked, sending waves of electricity to him that made his head feel hot. He dropped the ebook back onto the table before forcing himself to walk away. This shit with Skywall was going to be the death of Emery and he didn’t want Cromwell or Skywall taking any more from them. He wasn’t worth the energy Emery spent thinking about him and he certainly wasn’t worth Emery’s life, but he couldn’t say that.

Dent dropped his ass into their sorry excuse for a couch. They picked it up by the dumpster’s being MIN-imal Parts Sales. It was flat, but it was probably in better condition than Emery’s bed was in. He flicked on the TV, seeing Skywall on it and immediately turning it off. He closed his eyes, dropping his head onto the back of the couch. He could still see it all so clearly. The memories were at the forefront of his mind, he wondered if Emery had as vivid a memory as he did.

His circuit board flickered, squeaking internally as the images flashed before his closed pupils, digging up the images to replay them for him. Dent’s arm twitched as an electrical surge went through him which caused his leg to smack into the hunk of bent metal they dared to call a coffee table. Light streaks shot across his vision as another shock went through him, his throat tightened and his muscles constricted. He gave a gasped, fingers extending before they clenched the cushion beneath him.

Emery’s scream echoed through his mind before the memory had finished loading. As it booted up, it was already part way through. Colors flashed across the screen, skipping over the damaged parts of the video. As he looked at his hands, he knew he was in his D.O.C. body. Crimson fluid dripped his knuckles, catching his bright blue eyes with surprise. Blood. He had blood on his hands.

Dent was afraid.

He didn’t have control.

He knew he had to do something.