Since waking up in the hospital, the world had seemed like a strangulating trap. The suffocation percolated every aspect of my life. It forced me to stay in the house, stuck in my marred knowledge of my past, present, and future. And so I seemed destined to be until the day I died or discovered how every piece of my history fell into place.
I wished I could demand my brother answer the millions of questions fighting for attention in my mind. But I drew a blank every time I thought I had gathered the courage. Behind that innocent smirk of his, in truth, he held the key to my cage. He simply dangled it above me, only allowing me to get as close as he wanted me to. Perhaps a ludicrous thought, but without any clue as to what exactly happened to me, the ridiculous posed itself plausible.
After grabbing a snack from the fridge, (pudding, I think, but I couldn't see), I flopped down on the couch.
"Captain!" I called, throwing an arm over my face dramatically. The pitter-patter of his paws came along. I pat him on the head, popped open the chocolate pudding, and ate it without a spoon.
Snap!
The sharp noise interrupted my train of thought. I straightened and listened closer.
Snap! Squeak!
Captain huffed at the source of the sound. I shushed him, trying to focus.
Snap! Snap!
The crackles accompanied an animalistic squeak. Closing the gap between Captain and me, I used him for sight. He continued huffing, his focus fixated on underneath the couch.
Now that I could see as Captain saw, I nearly yelped. A small rat skittered from under the couch and escaped between my feet. A childish scream ensued instinctively. Captain went after it, stranding me in the dark and almost knocking me over, barking at the rodent.
I shuddered, shaking out my hands. "Captain?" I stalked through the dark, chasing after sounds.
After finding his fur, sight returned. The rat backed against the wall, cornered under the computer desk. Its weighted body moved up and down with shaking breath. Topped with a red lens, a cylindrical camera emerged from its scuffed black fur. Brown goggles hung strapped across its face, and a metal skeletal spine ran along its backside, reaching the tail's tip.
"What in the world..."
A wire poked out from under the camera. As the rat's face came closer to it, the rodent met another shock, resulting in the snap! The rat squeaked in response. I frowned, the smallest portion of me pitying the creature. The rat looked half mechanical, unlike the biological mutants, Ashton had described to me. I crossed out the idea it could be a remmutant.
Sucking up my nerves, I held my hand out to the rat.
It looked at my fingers very reluctantly. I didn't exactly trust it either. As the rat scampered up on my palm, I let go of Captain, only needing to see through one pair of eyes.
With the rat in hand, I realized I couldn't see back behind the rat while using my powers. I frowned and moved to touch Captain again. Shutting one eye, I found myself only looking from Captain's view.
I perked up at the new development.
1. When touching two things, my eyes each take one perspective.
"Hey, that's neat." I wondered if I'd be doing this for the rest of my life: talking to animals while waiting for Ashton to get home.
Taking my pinky, I tucked the wire back under the camera. I noticed an imprint in the metal plating. BL-32. The rat tilted its head at me, scanning me over. I watched it, wondering what it could be thinking.
In my carelessness, the uncovered tip touched me, resulting in a light shock. I quickly whipped my hand back. In the process, I smacked Captain in the nose. That set him off with a loud bark. The rat leaped away among the chaos. I yanked Captain's collar to keep him from going after the rodent. After bonking my head on the bottom of the table, I found my way to the sink. Frowning, I found my hands.
"Ally..."
Soft pink lips flashed.
"Ally... Can you hear me?"
Warm cheeks. Bouncy blond curls. I couldn't make out her face.
"Ah, dang, this was a bad idea." The world around me glitched. Blurry images flew past my vision. Voices. Mumbles. A gate. "For all I know, it's not even you."
"Just wait right here." A different voice from the first one. A grown man.
A scream pierced the air. Crying. "Abort! Abort!"
These voices came foggier than the girl's defined tone.
The girl's voice returned. "There's something else here. Someone..."
Fire. So much fire. Glowing. Bright yellow.
"Lee!" Another alien voice.
"Oh shoot." Trampling footsteps followed the girl's voice.
The world shifted to black. Eyes, peering through. The knocking. Remmutants.
"I'll be back. Please, just hang on till then." Everything went still, all except an eerie ringing. "Please."
"Lee!"
Ashton's laughter filled the space. Disappearing as soon as it came.
"Well... You're in good hands. I'll see you again... I promise."
Quiet. A void. The water rippled in the center. Drip. Drop. Drip.
Drop.
I gasped and woke up from my nap on the couch. Groaning, I rubbed my face with my palm. Weird dream.
Even weirder was how I could see right now.
I stopped, the thought connecting. My whole body was fixed visible from a distance. I double-checked to make sure I wasn't touching anything that could give me sight. Someone else's view took over mine without making contact.
A yellow sticky note stuck to my forehead. In Ashton's scribbly handwriting, it read, Sweet dreams, dork! See you after work! How long was I asleep?
Shoving the note in my pocket, I focused. I must find who I was seeing through. From under... the coffee table. Captain? The low angle exhibited the scene in color, canceling out the option. I glanced down toward my watcher's feet. Toothy toes and chubby legs moved toward dark fur and metal plating.
My eyes widened. The rat from earlier. My mind was swarmed with several different thoughts. 1, gross, 2, how, and 3, why! Peeking around the coffee table leg, I searched for Captain. He lay curled up on his bed, by the stairs. Probably for the best, lest he scares away the rodent. I needed to find out how I could see through the rat's eyes.
Before I could, the rat took control again. It darted across the floor and squeezed under the closet door beneath the stairs. I moved to get up off the couch but decided against it. After all, a strange cyborg rat would certainly have interesting places to go. He could take the lead for a while.
A misplaced sense of freedom fell over me.
Climbing up a broom handle, the rat made his way up into the roof vents. He had a route already planned out, but there had to be someone who had programmed it into him. Who could it be?
After the rat reached the end of the vents, he climbed downward, landing in the kitchen walls. He scampered out from a hole and made his way into the outside light. The grass padded his soft steps. He reached the end of the concrete sidewalk, before pausing. His head turned back at the house, nose twitching in thoughts. His will stood strong.
Some more nudging from me, and the rat moved. Going as fast as his tiny rat body would take him, he finally reached the end of the street. Attempting to cross the road, he took a step forward.
Dark red letters rolled across my view. It only served to worsen my confusion until I remembered the rat's goggles. Glitch detected. Return to Cleo's lab. The rat retracted his arm, moving back onto the sidewalk. He raced uphill, crossing the road to the right.
Cleo. That name was mentioned in the video I had seen on Ashton's computer had mentioned someone. Who were they?
Finding this rat had not been a coincidence. I clicked my tongue, thinking.
"What's up, Ally-gator!"
I flinched, startled at the sound of Ashton's voice. The world went dark, disconnecting from the rat. "No," I yelped under my breath.
"Ally?" I felt his hand on my shoulders.
"Ashton, you're back. Hey." I gave a smile, trying to sound enthusiastic.
"Okay, weirdo." He ruffled my hair and moved on.
I pulled myself up from the couch. "Hey, Ashton?" I needed to ask him at least one of my questions. I genuinely considered, but couldn't bring myself to trust him entirely. If I asked, I didn't think he would tell me the truth. About any of it.
"Yeah?"
"Maybe... tonight we could just hang out? We could play a board game or something." An honest diversion. He said he was my brother, but I knew so little about him. Maybe some quality time would rid me of trust issues. Then I could hopefully have the guts to ask him anything I wanted.
"Yeah, I'd like that." Warmness lingered in his voice. Maybe he felt the same way.