Escape from Metal

Jake was only semi-conscious when he was being dragged and only saw flashes of the journey. As the light shimmered through the rusted and corroding metal the light seemed to cut through the cold air as it shone. Two people arguing pushing each other around and almost starting a fist fight. A group of people fighting two hunters and their lapdog robots and having to retreat after nearly getting the semi-conscious Jake killed. The panic and chaotic sounds seemed to disappear shortly after as the fullness of the void filled his eyes.

There was silence and a calm which was a foreign feeling, almost like a long-lost friend. Jake couldn’t remember the last time he felt such a calm. He could only remember that he couldn’t remember anything and that stirred something in him he wasn’t sure if it was bravery or another mountain of fear.

Jake opened his eyes and was relived to find the calm wasn’t just a pleasant dream but was in fact true. Jake found himself under a blanket in some kind of cylindrical bed of some sort. He expected a wind current or flapping curtains to gently pass through the room but all he could hear was some or other low electrical drone.

Jake thought about lying in his bed just to stay there in peace and try to remember days of peace, but he could not remember anything from his past. So, he tried to imagine what a better day would be, where a better day would be.

Would it have strange food, would it be somewhere near a ocean where he would be awaken by the breeze and sound of crashing waves or would it be in as scorching heat where water carries more value than money. Would the faces around him be faces he gotten to know overtime would there be any faces to speak of?

The harder he tried the more frustrated he grew with himself eventually he surrendered to the fact that he might not remember anything now… maybe not ever. In the very least he would like to understand his current circumstances and what on earth was going on here, after all it can’t be a normal day when ever second person you see wants to kill or enslave you.

He slowly got up but groaned as he did so. His muscles felt comparatively the same as some of the rusted metal in this city and in much better shape he supposed. As Jake glanced around, he felt somewhat enclosed the room he was in wasn’t as big as he was used to. Besides the small cylindrical bed, he was in there was a small tree in a pot next to his bed and some clothes that lay on the end of his bed.

Unlike the place he’d previously awoke from this one lacked the distinct smell of smoke and the immediate sense of danger. There were even handful of potted plants dotted around the room although these were much smaller than the comparable larger potted tree.

“Good to see you’re finally awake, thought we’d lost you back there.” A man said.

Jake hadn’t even noticed that the door had opened and had wondered how long he’d been standing there. His mind had started wondering to the events and to Ben, even though he hadn’t known the young man he still felt somewhat guilty for what happened.

“Names Dan, follow me if you want to live.” Dan said as he walked away but turned around after a few steps.

“I’m just kidding no one here wants to kill you that is unless you’re a robot.” He said jokingly.

Outside Jake found himself in another more expansive room with the same metallic patterns as the tower he awoke in they were so intricate yet so simple although these seemed to deviate slightly by have the occasional round edge. Jake kept on following Dan into another room. There we’re a few people moving around in it and talking but they all stopped and stared at Jake as he entered the room.

Jake both nervously and awkwardly gave a wave to everyone in the room as he said “Hi.”

There were a few moments of awkward silence before Dan stepped in to help Jake. “We haven’t exactly been formally acquainted besides for your half-awake blabbering. Who knows what you we’re saying.”

He said as he slapped Jake on the back a little too hard. “You were the last one to wake up, everyone is already up to speed and has gotten a whale.”

Jake had a extremely confused look on his face. “What do you mean others and what is a whale supposed to be I haven’t seen any oceans around?”

Dan chuckled slightly. “You didn’t think we risked our necks just for you we were there to free as many slaves as we could, granted this wasn’t our most efficient liberation.”

“Uhm… I don’t mean to seem rude or anything, but can someone explain what the hell is going on here.” Jake said slightly raising his voice which caught him a little off guard.

Some of the others started laughing softly all but Dan who raised an eyebrow at Jakes remarks.

“You’re not joking, are you?” Dan said slightly concerned.

“No, why would I joke about something like that. I mean c’mon I’ve almost died like 10 times in the last month alone.”

Some of the other people slow moved their hands closer to their holstered weapons. Jake didn’t like this one bit. At least if he had to go this way, he’d know from who it was. Another human. Not some crazy machine, falling buildings or slavers but just another person more normal than any of the other encounters he had had.

With his eyes closed he waited the second seemed to stretch out longer and longer and longer and finally all he heard was.

“It’s ok, he hasn’t done anything.”

“Yet.” A woman said with her hand on her holstered weapon.

“Well, before you do anything else let’s get you acquainted.”

“The big ogre over there is Lee he our demolition expert and he’s not a bad pilot either, if he didn’t crash the last ship we had.”

Lee was the most relaxed out of everyone in the room probably because he knew even without weapon he could snap Jake like a twig. He wasn’t wearing any armour or protection, but he imagined if he did nothing would be able to break it.

“Hey!” Lee said in objection.

“The snarky lady there that almost shot your brains out is Akilina, she’s the resident sharpshooter well on of them and watch what you say to her she’ll throw it right back in your face if she doesn’t like you.”

Akilina seemed to have a relaxed demeanor around her, but Jake thought by her reaching for her gun the quickest out of everyone she was probably more alert than she seemed. She was wearing some sort of extended flat cap that almost eclipsed her eyes as she leaned back in her chair carefree like.

She just grinned in response.

“Our tech expert is rhydderch, don’t worry I don’t know how to say it either I don’t think anyone does, so we just ended up calling him Ray. He’s the one who hacks into mainframes and a bunch of other stuff I don’t understand. Saved our lives on more than one occasion with his hacking.”

Ray on the other hand had a few gadgets and such on him and attached to his armour, probably for all his hacking and whatever else it is he did.

Ray didn’t even know Dan was talking about him he was too engrossed in something on his tablet.

“And finally, we have the twins. Ab and Pat, they might look young and innocent but these two have helped us pull off some pretty tough situations. Oh, and don’t get in their way when they’re having a friendly competition, they are pretty competitive. If you do have the misfortune of running into them on such a day you can ask Ray about it.”

Jake noticed that Ab and Pat where much younger than the rest were, even more so than Ben. He guessed that they were probably around 13 or 14. The one thing he didn’t know is which was which they looked exactly the same to him.

Ab and Pat didn’t really seem to care what Dan said about them, as they both did a half-baked tug of war for some or another trinket.

“You don’t talk much do you scrap” Akilina said as she got up from her chair slowly pacing around Jake. “Well, are you going to say something?” She said pacing closer to him.

“Well… uh… I… well”

“That’s what I thought nothing, you know we’ve had some troublemakers with the same problem. I took care of them though. I’m just sad I had to throw them down the pit.”

“Nothing that goes down there ever comes back up, maybe I should throw you down there with your tin can friends.”

“What are you talking abo… wait you think I’m one of them? Lady you’ve got to be out of it.”Jake said, he could feel his blood starting to boil.

Suddenly Akilina pushed Jake. “Well, if you’re not one of them hit me. It should hurt right since you aren’t a robot.”

Jake could feel the anger rising up and he could feel himself slipping away.

“Enough.” Dan said loudly as a silence fell over the room even ray and the twin’s paid attention. “Akilina, I don’t want to her any more of this. I know what you’re trying to do, now get up to the trials and help the fresh meat.”

“You can see he’s one of them, I just don’t want another incident like before.”

Dan just gave Akilina a steel eyed stare and without a word she left.

“Sorry, about that we’re all a little stressed out here.”

“Now about those whales everyone who is new here is required to get someone to show them the ropes here. It just helps everyone get familiar with the setup we have here, if you’re lucky you’ll get one of the twins.” Dan said as he chuckled as he started walking off.