The Rise of the Cyborgs

Chapter 25/Zoe returns as Zoe

Meta's POV 

Instuttion #71/Dormatory 7

It was starting getting light outside when Brooklyn and I got back to dormitory seven. We pretended to sleep, why we did we tried to figure out what to do. Brooklyn wasn't sure that we would be able to stop the truck coming in before it was too late. If we exposed it the government would just argue it never happened and this was all some impaired plot. I came up with the idea of what I called direct action. We had enough time to potentially infect some of the others. We could probably get 20 or 30 impaired on our side. We would become an army. We would escape. Brooklyn's only worry was that this mobile truck would be able to go on afterwards. I said we could break it but it was obvious that they built it, so they could fix it or build another, logic suggested they would build a number. We might save our selves, the institution but the impaired would be slowly silenced.

While I lay down I became more overwhelmed by the horror of it. At first, I thought I was in denial. I had never thought much about kids but suddenly not to have them seemed terrible like something had been taken away. My aunt - well my foster aunt had problems conceiving. She slept on the couch sometimes when she had broken up with a couple of boyfriends. She drank a fair amount. I remember her complaining that one man had left her after she told him she was barren. He had been angry, it had been two years before she mentioned it. He had said he told her he was into kids early on. That time she had cried on the sofa all night. I remember hearing it all the way up in my bedroom upstairs.

Being robbed of children not by nature but by the party seemed so beyond desperate. After that, I must have fallen asleep. I had a vivid dream. I dreamt I was a mother. I had a baby and a toddler boy called Nathan. I think Brooklyn was the dad I wasn't sure. In the dream the police came they took my kids. The boy Nathan was scared. I remember lying to Nathan saying everything was going to be OK. I was living in my step-parents old house for some reason. I was crying, then the police took Nathan out on to the porch. I was screaming while other police held me back. I remember feeling so desperate. There was a flash of black metal and one of the police suddenly shot Nathan. A huge red rose of spray emerged from Nathan's head on the flakey white wood of the side of the house. He fell like a rag doll on the porch deck. Then I dreamt the police took my baby I was frantic at this stage. One of the policemen kicked Brooklyn out of his chair, he was shouting crawling. The police took my baby out on to the porch behind the wall and I heard a shot.

I woke up. My heart was beating so hard I thought I would have a heart attack. I was wet with sweat. My mind calmed as I grew accustomed to it being a dream. The truth of the dream was apparent. The truck visit would kill my kids just as surely as the guns in the dreams. Except these kids would be dead before they existed. Looking at the others it was obvious that it was the same for the others. My mind reached out thinking of all the other dormitories in institution 71. Beyond them everyone all the other institutions.

I grabbed the metal pillar of the bunk bed firmly to pull my self up. They didn't even sterilise rapists and murders. Was I or any of the other institution kid so evil or dangerous we deserved worse treatment? When I let go of the bunk bed metal pillar to notice I had dented it badly.

I was struggling with the choices when the others began to wake up. I was silently talking to Brooklyn about what to do. Would the others even believe us? Should we tell them or should we wait until we could get a record of the proof?

Suddenly the dormitory lock opened and in stepped Zoe. Behind her were a couple of wardens. Her hair was out of her usual pony tail it hung around her shoulders. The way she moved seemed more confident, agile, at ease and if I had to find a word , slightly more sexy.

"Hi everyone," she said looking around smiling.

This was very strange for Zoe.

"You OK," Valerie said.

"I'm fine. Craven didn't lay a hand on me." Zoe said. She seemed perky. " I started vomiting and it somehow I talked them into not doing a search. Hows it been here You OK?"

"I am..." Valerie said slightly confused.

Zoe came over to me. "I'm fine thanks to little on the spot kissing." She said quietly to me. She pushed the sleeve of my overalls back. She looked at my arm for a second then pulled her sleeve up to show me the weird linear tattoo up her arm. It was like mine and Brooklyn'S. I guess that she was indicating that she knew. She then turned her gaze to Brooklyn then back to me.

"So how long have you two been an item?" she said smiling looking at us.

'Wow that's fast' Brooklyn said to me silently.

Zoe turned ahead to look at Brooklyn. It was as if she heard what he had said. Then her attention was caught by Colin moving in bed.

"Here let me help you" she said reaching down to Colin. This definitely wasn't Zoe. Well old Zoe.

'Can you hear me Zoe?' I said silently to her 'if you can, don't worry. Something important is happening. I'll explain more later.'

She looked up and raised her eyebrow at me.

Zoe went on to made some mothering noises as she helped Colin get dressed and settled into his chair. I could sense the confusion in the group.

Hanna came over. "I saved these guys for you." Hannah said handing over Zoe's box of bugs.

"Yeah that's sooo kind of you" Zoe said. She walked over to the window. The window would lift up a little. A hand's width enough to let in air in while it was hot. She pushed her hands through the gap and tapped the box. The bugs spilled out on to the ledge.

"OK you're free guys. Have a happy life" she said. Zoe checked the plastic box she had nursed every day since I had known her. Sure it was empty she tossed it in the trash.