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Blue Belt Entry: 5

I suddenly shot awake, body lurching on the metal table I was on. But something held me down. I yanked my arms up. They didn't move. I looked down at my body and nearly passed out. It wasn't the fact that my limbs were being held in place that scared me, but the fact that my limbs were metal.

"No, no, no!" I screamed. I began to flail around. One leg burst through the band. Then an arm. With one final lurch I was free.

I rolled off the table to the cold linoleum floor. I knelt there and a touched my left arm. As I rubbed my hand, there was a quiet screech of metal on metal: my finger and my hand.

I began to panic. I stood up and looked for a way out. A white door was in the corner. But when I tugged and pushed on the handle, it didn't budge. Screaming, I hit the door with my shoulder. Something appeared in my vision. With a yelp, I backed away. But the thing didn't go away. I suddenly realized it was words. 

PAIN. Discontinue activity causing PAIN.

Then I realized the words were coming from my eyes. Inside them. I fell the floor and held my head. What did they do to me?

The door opened. I scurried away from it on my hands and knees. An older man in a white coat came in holding a clipboard. His jaw dropped when he saw the table. Then his eyes fell on me.

"I thought the band's would hold this time," he commented. "I'll have to figure that out soon."

"This time?" I croaked.

He nodded and walked to the counter to set his clipboard down. "Yes. You're not the first one that's been in here."

"What did you do to me?" I hissed.

He pushed up his glasses on his nose. "You were in a terrible accident. You coded and were pronounced dead. So they gave you to me." He spread his arms out. "And you're alive now!"

"But what did you do to me?"

"They brought you in pieces. Nothing I could do to save your limbs. Your back was broken too. So I fixed that. In the end, and in basic terms, you have metal limbs, some of your spine has been replaced, and there have been some adjustments in your brain. Oh and those aren't your real eyes. They're a kind of screen, a retina display I call it. It will give you information about your body. You cannot feel most sensations, such as pain, heat, cold or texture. So this is when your display will tell you what you should be feeling."

"That's- that's terrible," I stuttered. I stood up slowly. "Why didn't you just let me die?"

"And let you go to waste? No. I gave you new purpose."

I threw my hands up. "Then take me to my family. Where are they anyway?"

He fidgeted with his hands. "Well, they believe you're dead. You're not supposed to remember them when you wake up. That's what I was coming here to do. I need to delete all your personal knowledge. Your childhood memories, family, friends. Your name. I hadn't quite gotten around to doing that."

I took a step back. "No, you can't do that. That's me!"

"I'm sorry but you're going to need to sit back down on the table. I must complete the process."

"Get away from me!" I ran at the door. It was locked again. The man approached me. "Now just sit down."

"No!"

He sighed. "I was afraid of that." He pulled out a little remote and pushed a button. My legs gave out and I crumpled to the floor. I suddenly couldn't move anything.

"By the way," the man said as gripped me under the arms and dragged me to the counter. "I am Dr. Quigley."

He leaned me against the cabinets. He tilted my head to one side and swept my hair to one side. His fingers went up the back of my head. I shuddered. Or at least I tried to but my body wouldn't move.