It used to be a hospital. At least, the old signage indicated that. It resembles more of a prison with the barred windows and concrete wall surrounding the perimeter. The wall looked rough as if set up in a rush. Its bricks were unaligned and though it held sturdy, it looked as if one good blow could bring it down.
Approaching the old visitor center, two mutant guards stood outside the covered glass doors. They did not raise their weapons, but they questioned with deep suspicion. “Where were you, Los? And who are they?” Unfazed, Los straightly answered, “I went looking for Cells fuel. I overheard the Emissary’s of Justice attacking this group. I helped them and found fuel.” The guards' uneasiness was not swayed, but they let them pass, keeping their eyes on the strangers.
Crates and half opened boxes filled the soulless lobby containing supplies. Empty chairs where people waited were reduced to low shelves. The group walked to the staircase, and echoing from above, a pleasant voice spoke, “Oh Los, did you get the Cells?” The voice of the mutant opposed the merging of a half person and half plant. Tree bark bloomed as a part of her body. Her face split between normality and a twisting branch, yet voice still spoke clear.
She shrunk back upon seeing the strangers and with pleasant concern asked Los, “I didn’t think you’d bring live bodies with you. Are you in trouble perhaps?” Los shook his head and remaining monotone said, “No, they are our guests. I planned on placing them and their friends in some beds before I made the Cells.” Taking another look, her curiosity overcame her, and she insisted on joining the tour. “The name is Kay,” she said with an uneasy smile.
Leading the way of the three, she made grand gestures and remarks touring the dim halls of the hospital floor. As if in a joke, she explained each room to be a private living quarters for most individuals while children lived with their parents. Mutants in the hall hid in their room when the strangers approached, a few peeking through the doors. She touted how everyone here is a part of a community and worked together to make a joyful home, but in a moment of silence, her silent despair fell onto her face.
One by one they placed the unconscious members on beds in their own rooms, but as they dropped off Miracle, Medoe noticed a barely filled vial of Cells still clutched in their hand. Waiting for the others to leave, they pried it out and placed it back into the heart causing them to rewake. Miracle awoke in a state of fight. They quickly arose pulling their arm back ready to strike, but Medoe’s shouts caused the machine to halt in place. In their robotic tone, they apologized. Medoe in concern asked, “Why did you take the vial of Cells out? They needed you during that fight.”
Miracle first scanned the room to confirm their solidarity, and recalled, “The malicious code once again attempted to regain control of me during the fight. I took out the vial to shut myself down before it took over.” They paused to look at their bloodied trembling hands. With fear reflecting in their voice, they said, “It’s violence, Medoe. When acts of violence enter my mind, it attempts to come back. I’ve tried to delete that code, but it resurfaces from depths I cannot see. I fear it may be a part of what I’ve forgotten.”
Medoe attempting to comfort the machine said, “I’m sure it’s nothing that you can’t handle eventually. We all have parts of ourselves that we don’t like. It’s what makes us human.”
“I am not human!” The robot nearly shouted. Their plain lights for eyes burned ever so brighter as they raged, “I am merely directions given to act human, but I am not like you. This problem that may be common for others, shouldn’t exist for me. I’m a machine. I am to act better than people can.” The machine finished to see the trembling Medoe, and they turned away in shame.
At first, Medoe looked to the door or considered shouting for help but on returning sight to his friend, he found an unnatural resolve within himself. Medoe in a quiet tone spoke, “Let’s keep this between you and me for now. If the others were to know about this, they would scrap you or have you leave.” Medoe found an ease in conversing with a machine rather than a human. “Ever since I pulled you from the scrap, I sensed a loneliness in you that I see in myself. I’d like to not see you go.”
Miracle gleaned at the mask of Medoe and recognized it similar to their own face. Remaining expressionless, Miracle replied with soft gratitude, “I am glad to have a purpose in helping you. I will now be ready to stand by your side.”
The two left room to catch up with the others who had finished placing the last member in their room. In surprise, Ceri naturally asked how Medoe managed to awaken Miracle. Medoe answered in alignment with Miracle’s story with the added lie that the enemy managed to pull the vial out, and Miracle only had enough time to grab back their vial. With a sigh of exhaustion, she let the explanation pass.
Los told the group that he was heading down to make the Cells. Ceri volunteered to go with, so that she could have access to Cells quickly. Kay asked if Medoe and Miracle would rather rest in a room, but Medoe mentioned his curiosity to see a Cells machine operate for he never saw one in person. Miracle simply stated that he would follow Medoe.
They went together down the stairs with Kay breaking off at the first floor mentioning something along the lines of making dinner. As they continued to the basement, Medoe moaned as he asked why they could not take the elevator. There was clearly power in the building, so why were stairs the only means of movement between floors? Keeping always with his neutral tone, Los explained that they used Cells to power the hospital’s lights and water, enough to keep people comfortable. Cell power is extremely limited, so it was in best interest to not waste power on the elevators. The answer silenced Medoe in embarrassed regret.
Los pushed through the metal doors of the basement leading into a series of dim grey hallways that seemed to be a maze for those unfamiliar. They reached an unmarked door and opened into a small room. Well, it was only small due to the large machine taking up half the space. The machine looked to be made of solid iron and consisted of four parts. A large person sized cylinder lied to the left of the machine. Inside of which were many sharp blades. This cylinder had a tube that led up to the second chamber of the machine which was connected to the third part below. The third component consisted of an unlit furnace and large amount of water above. Lastly, the third part had a metal tube reaching to the right where the fourth component laid. With half glass at the top, it led into a metal funnel where empty glass vials stood in wait to collect their resource.
Los put the bodies of the mutants into the first part of the machine using their big arm to squeeze in every body part of the mutants into the blender. Shutting the iron door and locking it in, he flipped a switch and the body parts began to shred into smaller grains. Ceri and Miracle stood unphased by the process while Medoe fell queasy at the sound of bodies being shredded.
While the bodies were blending, Los started the furnace in third part, causing the water above to reach a boil and rise to the second part above. Ceri casually mentioned to the standing Miracle and sickly Medoe that an electric heater was usually used to heat the water. The fire must be another way to save on energy.
The bodies finished blending and with the flip of a lever, the chunks of flesh were mechanically moved up to the second chamber where they merged with water. Between the second and third parts was a seal that allowed water to go up but prevented it from going down with the chunks. Ceri quickly approached Los who was in the process of placing a filter in the center. With concerns, she quickly stated, “You can’t just let the Cells process through the filter. If you do that, the mutating Cells will blend in and turn the batch into nothing but dangerous mutating Cells.”
Los holding onto the filter simply stated, “I know.” Taking a single half vial of Cells nearby, he placed a pattern on the plate sized filter and spoke the mysterious words. The pattern started to glow and as it did, he placed it in between the second and third parts. He explained, “The pattern separates the Mutating Cells from the good Cells. We do lose some Cells in the process, but we need to be safe.” Ceri stood amazed at their ingenuity. The pattern spell was completely original, but before she could ask who created it, the machine continued its process.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
A lever was pulled and the mix of flesh and water trickled down through the filter. The fluid could be heard pouring back into the third chamber though unseen. Los listened for the pouring to stop as the signal to press the last button. In order to get undiluted Cells, the last step involves a fan pulling the steam from the third chamber into the fourth. As the steam is poured, the Cells collect as droplets on the top of the glass container where gravity does it work in pulling them down into the funnel. From there, they slowly drip into the vials where Los carefully watches waiting for one to fill before swapping it with an empty one.
When the process was finished, four vials were filled. Medoe still in a sickly state, asked Ceri, “Why only four containers? From what I remember, the general amount you get is one vial per body, and If I remember correctly, we put in five bodies.” Ceri stated the filter must have stopped about a vial’s worth of Mutating Cells from extraction.
Los handed Ceri all four vials saying, “Take what you need to heal your friends. Then keep your word and heal our sick.” Ceri solomonly took the vials and asked, “Why do you need me to heal the sick. You’ve been using Cells fine from what I’ve seen.” Los took a journal nearby and handed it to her saying, “This is all we have. A stranger gave us the basic instructions to make spells that power the hospital and filter mutated Cells.”
Ceri in her curiosity poured over the pages briefly. It was astonishingly well written. Not only were the words, amounts, and formalus precise, it was presented in such a way that an unstudied mind could use Cells. Ceri flipped through the pages looking for a sign or signature of the author, but none presented themselves.
Ceri returned the journal to Los giving praise to the author. She and the other two made their way to the floor where their allies were resting. Before entering their rooms, Ceri raided the old medical cabinets to find the ingredients she needed, starfish limbs and cloth.
Each of them were either unconscious or on the brink of death, but by taking the limbs of the starfish, grinding them into a powder, and dropping the appropriate amount of Cells, she spoke the words of the spell and applied it to the wounded areas of her comrades. Upon application, the wounds began to regenerate back into their complete form. Ceri, satisfied but not relieved, asked Medoe and Miracle to observe their recovery while she went to help the rest of the sick mutants.
The floor of the sick did not differ from the looks of the normal floors, but differed in the sounds of coughing and groaning. Going into one room after another, it was difficult to distinguish the sickness of the mutant from the deformity of their mutation. Many lied with anguish and with the help of Ceri’s magic some were eased but others only cried out in pain. The logic of magic did not always accept the new logic presented in the strange biology of the mutants. She could only try and put them to sleep to ease their pain, but she lacked the knowledge to be of great help.
Ceri worked for hours seeing every patient and gaining exhaustion with every visit. After the last stop, she slid down to the floor leaning against the wall. Taking shallow breaths, she stared at the grey wall as it became the most comfortable thing to see. The large steps of Los could be heard coming up the stairs, and before her weakness could be seen, she stood to meet him. He asked how the visits went, and she explained her situation to Los after her route. He remained the plane creature he was during the report, and once she finished, he simply replied with, “Ok.”
On awakening, Voltaire, and Baba remained in their beds. Voltaire stared at the pale ceiling with contempt while Baba turned on her side to peek through the barred windows. When Medoe walked in, he almost jumped at the sight of their eyes being open. He asked how they were doing to which they gave only grunts of confirmation of their survival. Though when Voltaire answered, a brewing fury could be seen in his eyes when gazed upon Medoe.
Billy stretched as if he had a good nap and got out of bed to observe his surroundings, which was a hospital room missing its equipment. The noise of him digging through his pack alerted Medoe to this presence. Medoe quickly asked if he should be up so soon. Billy dismissed the concern, “It’s not the first time I’ve barely survived. When you’re as old as me, you get used to the experience. The only thing I’m concerned with is the medical bill.” He finished with a laugh.
Miracle checked on Mimi to see her wide awake and beating herself with a pillow. Between hits, she frustratedly exclaimed, “Why- did- I- have- to- lose?” The words went on repeat, and Miracle quietly left her to cope.
Ceri finished her route with one vial still left in her hand. She lacked any expression stumbling down the hallway. Bringing her hand down, she fiddled with one vial left in her pocket. Los granted her permission to keep the Cells as thanks for help, yet her mind was still back with the sick mutants.
Miracle approached and alerted her to the awakening of their team. She robotically checked on all of them, saying only the necessary words. After checking on Billy, the echo of Kay’s voice came over the speaker. In a cheerful declaration, she called out, “Supper Time is ready!”
A soft thunder of footsteps echoed through the hall. The floor of mutants making their way to eat. Billy with excitement cried out, “Ooh, boy supper time. It’ll be nice to eat something made by someone else.” He cheerfully strolled into the crowd. Medoe hesitated to eat with a group of mutants, but Miracle suggested he get some nutrients. Mimi scamped out of her room the moment food was promised. Ceri volunteered to ask Baba and Voltaire, to which both declined. Voltaire did not give a reason, and Baba only claimed she did not feel well. Leaving them to their rooms, Ceri intended to stay in hers, but she stopped at the door. Though one hand rested on the handle, it pulled away as she started down the hall. The force of curiosity guided her to everyone else.
The old cafeteria was vibrant with life. Many mutants talked as they waited in line to get their vegetables and bread from other mutants rationing out the food. The area had some decay, but due to its frequent use, it stayed maintained. Medoe only observed in awe at the contradictory nature of the cafeteria. Here he expected quiet despair as they chewed on their bland meals, but the room filled with happy laughs and chatter. Sitting down next to Billy, Mimi, and Miracle, he pulled up his mask up to his nose and bit into the meal before him. Flavorful, he thought. It was no luxury meal, but it was hardly the bland scraps he expected from a place of desolation.
Kay joined the group, and Billy greeted her. “Well miss,” he said in his gleeful tone, “You all sure cooked up a wonderful meal here. Y'all really be eatin like it’s a Friday night at the bar. It kinda amazes me.” Medoe spoke in saying, “Yes, I agree. I expected things to be- a sadder I suppose.” He quickly felt the need to correct, “Not that I think you have to be.
Kay gave a laugh, and gleefully said, “We can’t let despair take over us here. That’s not how anyone lives.” She gestured around to the area, “What’s the difference if we live our lives as scavengers compared to lives of being wage slaves. Both tie you down to the mundanity of routine, but here, the community gives more life.”
Billy chuckled at the comment, almost embarrassed. He in a playful tone asked, “That’s a fair point you got. Maybe it isn’t so bad to live away from money, but you make a man feel bad spending his time trying to get so much.”
Kay waved the thought saying, “Don’t think too much about it. If I had the power, I of course would undo the day that brought us here.” Recollecting on the past, she brought herself down to a melancholy. “Too many people died just for a bit of happiness. We’ve lost innocent people not only to the explosion, but to the disease and violence afterwards. We are happy because we have no choice too. It’s better to die happy than die sad.” She smiled through all her words even if sorrow lied behind. She let out softly almost unheard, “People always find a way to be happy, even in the dark times.”
Through all the chattering, Ceri leaned against the doorway of the cafeteria observing all the smiles, but noticing the ones sitting in silence. A few had little to say or desire to be happy. Those ones drew her attention the most. After a minute of observation, she disappeared behind the door.
Medoe caught the glimpse of her movement and decided to bring her in. He could only think of how she is missing the happiness that could be found. Maybe if she took more time to see it, she could find some relief. He called to her down the hallway, but whether intentionally or not, she continued up the stairs ignoring his shouts. He next followed her up the stairs to the roof. The building gave way to a nightly view of the city. While Ceri stood, she fixed her gaze on the dark spot.
Out of breath, he called for her, “You're missing out on the food. I know you’ve had it rough since you’ve been here, but you must have seen that it isn’t that bad. Well, it is bad, but they’ve managed to find happiness with what they have.” She had no reaction and kept her focus outward.
He moved around to the roof’s railing in order to catch a glimpse of her side, but when he matched her gaze, he saw her face pale in terror. Never facing him, she said in slow breaths, “I- must- go.” Bringing herself back to face Medoe, she explained in almost a panic, “Medoe, there’s a phantom after me. I don’t know how, but it knows I’m here. It calls me through everything in this district. If I don’t leave, I’m afraid I’ll-” she did not dare finish the thought. She simply went back to staring at the black spot. Her gaze never broke as if something would emerge the moment no eye was upon it.
Trying to get her attention, Medoe asked in concern, “What do you mean? What phantom?” She remained a statue. He readied to pull her away from the sight, but stopped before placing his hand on. Realizing no words could reach her ears, he gave up. Giving one last glance, he retreated back into the presence of others. Ceri barely noticed his leaving nor did it matter. Only the fear of the spot consumed her mind.
