The Arena (Book 1)

Once A Robot

When I'm going into surgery, to become human, David will be doing the exact opposite. He'll be becoming...a machine. We have no idea whether it will work or not, and no ones ever done this before. At this point, I'm starting to get second thoughts about the entire situation. But it's all we can do.

As doctors and nurses rush David into an operating room, I simply walk towards mine, with no urgency whatsoever. Dawn will be the lead doctor in my surgery, while Joey is with David. They open the doors for me and I feel a sudden rush of realization, but the good kind.

Once I'm on the bed, they say that they're going to be putting my power source to sleep. And that it won't come back on again if something goes wrong. The last thing I remember seeing is the bright light that hangs above my bed.

And from there, my memory begins. The bright light fades into the sun, on a hot summer day. I can hear the cicadas buzzing in the trees, I can smell the fresh air and the grass, that goes up to my knees. I look around, seeing a forest that surrounds the clearing I stand in. I recognize this meadow, this is where I once was as a child. A precious memory that I will never forget...even though it wasn't real.

I see a boy standing in the meadow, watching me. I recognize him too, but not only from the memory. He looks like...David. I begin to walk towards him, feeling the grass tickle my ankles and legs. When I approach him, he looks timid. But I recognize his eyes too. Maroon eyes and blonde hair...like David. I try to step closer but before I can, a bright light flashes and he's gone.

This was the first time I truly realized something wasn't right, that the world I lived in wasn't real. But I'm dead sure that was David. But before I have time to think, I'm taken to my first dream of the programming room, where David and I first met. This dream came a few months after I saw the boy in the meadow. But there's someone else in the room behind him, who looks like Liam...but that makes no sense. And, Davids arm looks strange, like it's made entirely of metal plates, the same with the rest of his body. I never took note of it until now.

Suddenly I begin to connect the dots. What if, this isn't the first time David has been a robot. And what if...Liam was David's creator. David said Liam won for six years in a row. This dream happened about seven years ago, and so did the day in the meadow. That would mean David was Liam's first robot. That even makes sense because he didn't have any weapons or special powers, in fact he, was like me. And that's how he became human.

I think about it a little more, the more I think the more sense it makes, but I need confirmation from David himself. Which I might never get at this point, I completely forgot about what's currently happening to me.

Suddenly I feel myself being conscious of my body, and I open my eyes. It's the same feeling of coming up for air after being under water for a long time. I'm blinded by the light above me, but once I adjust my eyes, I look around the room. I gently move my fingers back a fourth, then I try to flex my arms a bit.

"Are you awake?" Dawn asks as she stands next to me. I nod my head. She motions for the doctors to start getting some papers and a few drugs sitting on the table across the room. I need to find out if Davids okay, so with all the strength I have, I poorly get out of the bed and begin to clumsily walk towards the door. After a second Dawn notices, but it's too late, I'm already out the door and I shut it behind me.

As I stumble down the hallway, I take note of all the things I can see, and feel and hear. I feel my feet touching the cold hallway floors. I hear my heart beating, a bit unsteadily in my chest. But suddenly I notice something, liquid running out of my eyes. It's water, am I, crying? Suddenly I realize that I am in fact, crying. Something I've never done before.

When I reach Davids room, I notice the doors are still shut, with covers blocking the windows, but it's quiet in the room, so I go to open the door, which is shockingly not locked. When I enter, I see David, lying on the bed across the room, just different. He's fully awake, and there are no bandages on his chest, but when I look closer, I see metal plates that make up his skin. I take in a deep breath and he finally notices me. We both just stare in silence before I finally ask.

"David, is this the first time you've been a robot?"

He takes a moment to reply but unsteadily says, "No."