I watch Brian fill out the forms, zoning out unable to think but the worst case scenario. 'If she dies will I become homeless? or did she actually buy that apartment and I can live there even when she is gone. Maybe I should sell the house, but even if she dies. I am not certain that her house will pass on to me, and that's a big if on the part that she bought that house and does not give rent to an owner.'
I follow Brian, who walks knowingly where to go as he enters medical bay, filled with all sorts of patients from physically harmed to elderly. Only to stop in front of a patient's bed.
Ambra was sleeping with a saline connected to her veins, I personally thought that she would look far worse, but it seems they had cleaned her and her make up as well. She looked comparatively older than when I had been an infant, a woman in her 30s looked in her early 40s. Of course she would look older as I notice all the wrinkles which she covered with her make up was now all apparent, you abuse drugs and the drugs abuses you. She almost looked peaceful while sleeping, I shake my head to clear such thoughts
A female nurse approaches us, "When she was found and rushed here, she had puked out her all her lunch. So we had administered medicine, she should wake up tomorrow afternoon. If you wish to stay, you will have to fill out forms Mister... ?"
"Its Brian, I-I..." he pauses and looks at me, trying to figure out what to say.
Gazing at my mother sleeping, I personally feel it would be better to stay away from her. But staying with her would be costly, we could just transfer her to home! A great idea, well it doesn't hurt to ask, "Can she come home with us?"
The Nurse looks at the patient and then to Brian who nods, she gestures us to wait, "Let me get Dr. Lisha, she would be able to recommend what to do."
We wait in silence as I breathe in the strong smell of bleach and disinfectant, reminding me of how the first thing I smelled was this particular strong chocking smell of disinfectant, sometimes we would gaze at her or other patients, but we didn't wait for too long. As the supposed Dr. Lisha walks toward us. She had that signature white coat, she looked exhausted and sleep deprived. It seems she was overworked with handling patients, but what doctor wasn't overworked.
"Mr. Brian?" she presumes, and with a nod from him she continues, "Normally we would warn against taking her home, but she has recovered faster than normal. It seems her body is naturally resistant to drugs and is flushing them out naturally, further boosting her recovery. She should wake up by tomorrow, so she is in the clear and can recover in her home-" she is interrupted as a nurse comes looking for her, "You would have to fill out some forms. Nurse Bella, please guide them about the process.", as she hurries off with the other nurse.
I follow Brian back to lobby, he asks for what will be the cost of her staying admitted to the hospital compared to recovering at home. Seeing his eye brows rise at seeing the cost, I could easily guess that it was lighter on his wallet for Ambra to recover in home, as he would be the one to pay for her medical bill for tonight.
She asks a rather specific question, "Do you own any robot, Mr. Brian?"
"I, uh yes. We have a RD - X robot, a 2100 model."
"Great, we will give you an USB drive which will give instructions to your robot, what to do when something anomalous occurs. It happens to patients recovering from drug overdose and will also give it knowledge about what to feed her once she has woken up."
Feeling a sudden urge to pee and poop at the same time, I ask for directions and deny Brian's help, as it was unnecessary and unwanted. Wandering the wide hallway, I enter the mens restroom and sit to take a shit. Hearing footsteps, two friends seemed to conversing loudly.
"Hey, man you have to convince her to let you drop her at her house safely. I have been hearing it constantly how shit the security has been in the city, ever since they became governor of this city. The situation of this city has only worsened, people dying from overdosing has only increased. Gangs allowed to rule the night, when the protest happened their response? A fucking Curfew."
"Yeah, but she gets home early just before evening. It isn't that dangerous, also you do know that she does judo, right? Both of you were close friends and she used to slam your ass to the ground, remember that?"
"Yeah, and I was the one who introduced you guys to each other. Look man, Lana is like a sister to me. So convince her to move with you, she doesn't listen to me but maybe she would listen to you and where she lives isn't safe anymore. I have been hearing that disappearances have only been getting more and more common and even rising. To the point many people are shifting away from street Bezśnieżnej Zimy."
"Wait, isn't where Lana lives quite close to that street?"
"Why do you think I am trying to convince you idiot. Today these things are only happening in street Bezśnieżnej Zimy, tomorrow it could be her's. Just keep her safe that's all I ask."
"I will do my best but you have to back me up, she has become paranoid after her last boyfriend tried to control her life..."
Their voices fade as they walk away.
'Well now I know another street to avoid, gotta ask Antonio if he knows about these disappearances being real or not.' I clean after myself and exit only to see Brian waiting for me outside, he holds my hand as he asks, "Did you wash your hands?"
I shake my head, just to annoy him for questioning my personal hygiene.
***
The door to closes, as the people who brought Ambra back to the house had just left. It was just me, Brian and Axel, well if you include Ambra as well but she was unconscious and in deep sleep. Axel was sitting on the ground transferring all the data from the USB drive, as even Brian was laying on the couch. It was already night, and with Axel sitting to digest all the data and protocols. There was no one to cook dinner.
"Brian, what do you want for dinner? I can make scrambled eggs with bread if you like." I was hungry, it felt like I was constantly hungry.
"I am not really hungry kid, I am just tired." after a pregnant pause, he continues "It's just, one moment I was driving you home back only to hear someone from hospital calling me, I had prepared for another bad news... but at least it was not the worst." he winces but gets up and looks at me, "Don't worry kid, your mom is gonna be okay. She will wake up tomorrow... you know what, do you know how to cook Bigos?"
Seeing my confused face, he walks towards me with a smirk and heads to kitchen, I follow after him. He opens the fridge, and takes out cabbage, tomato, onions and other vegetables putting them on the kitchen counter. He narrates, "You see back in the orphanage all of us contributed something for the dish, some had stolen some meat or eggs, some were good at dicing vegetables and the ones who knew nothing or were too young, had to do dishes. We all had a system, about who would do what. We had an old pot and used it to cook and on special days we would cook Bigos. It was like a birthday celebration for us back then, and it tasted so delicious in the cold winter nights as well." he licks his lips at the thought.
Seeing my interested and enthusiastic face, he starts to show me how to cook as he shows a method to cut vegetables and would give me small bits of onion to practice on even though I already knew, while keeping me occupied he starts to dice up chicken meat and onions and puts them on a same pan to brown up. I would sometimes ask what he added and specifications on how to measure how long to cook. On one pot he adds olive oil and adds onions and spices in high heat and stirs it. He then starts to dice up other vegetables and adds them methodically in the pot, after which he also adds cooked chicken meat and onions in the pot and adds a small amount of water and puts a lid to close it.
"Eh, what I am cooking is not traditional Bigos but each family has their own method of making it." as both of us were sitting on the couch watching an animated movie, mostly to entertain me.
I ask, curious, "How did you guys know the recipe. I mean you can free style it because you have enough experience, but back then you were kids right?"
"Ah, you see we had a guy who wanted to be a famous cook and so he would never have to go hungry and could eat delicious food whenever he wants. Nicol was his name, he always made an effort in order to learn how to cook, so we started to call him cook and he took that name with strides. You see he was a great cook but a terrible thief, there was this one time he tried steal a cooking book but was caught in the act before he could make a run for it. When we asked why he did it, he said little Yon wanted to eat Bigos."
I continue to nod and intently listen, as this was the first time Brian loosened up to speak about himself. He would only speak about his past or himself when Antonio mentions it or makes fun of him, otherwise it was impossible to pry open his mouth. He was a kind man, who showed it with his actions and less with talk, or he just didn't know how to talk about himself.
"Little Yon was the youngest of us. We didn't even know what Bigos was at that time, so Nicol took it up on himself to find out and cook it. Then Nicol told us it was for Yon's birthday, so they sent me to steal it. Oh man, did you know shop keepers keep an extra eye on orphans?"
I ask, "Because they are the ones with higher percentage of stealing something?"
"No, I mean yeah. But not like that, ugh whatever. So I stole that cooking book and he made sure we all learned how to cook that one dish, so from then on it became a sort of tradition once or twice a month we would cook Bigos from whatever we could gather as a birthday treat for those who had birthday in that month."
He left many things unsaid which didn't take a genius to figure out, "Do you think Bigos is done?"
We come to check on it, as he hands me 6 eggs and instructs me to mix the yolk in a bowl, he adds spices in the bowl. He heats up a pan with olive oil and pours one-fourth of the whisked eggs. Making 4 omelets and starts putting bread slices and asks me make fried bread while he takes care of Bigos. And has already set a table by the time I am done, as I sit next to him and enjoy a warm hearty dinner.
By the time we are done, Axel was up and running and was doing the dishes, we just sit on the couch watching the movie close to end, with a full stomach, as a thought pops in my mind. "When is Brother Ant's birthday, we could make Bigos for him."
His wondering expression fades away, interest appears, "Yeah, that is a good idea Arwin. *Yawn* and also I think you should sleep, and I need to-" he immediately stops, seeing the pitiful expression on Arwin's face, "And I will stay with you kid."
'Yes! now even if something happens I have Brian to help me. Antonio had given us a holiday tomorrow, to rest. Maybe I can convince him to stay tomorrow as well.' but it felt wrong to manipulate Brian like this, only for me to extinguish such thoughts with determination. My goal was to survive this world and find a way home, even if it meant following directions of the one who sent me here.
***
A hand gently but monotonously shakes me awake, I clear my blurry eyes by rubbing them. Getting up and walking to the bathroom without seeing as I continue to rub my eyes, with practiced ease from living in this house. Upon entering the bathroom, I start to brush my teeth and look at the mirror. This has been my routine ever since I started learning under brother Antonio, although things didn't change much as I would always wake up early, only the time I had spent was under Antonio's guidance was different. I had come far from learning programming to now be able to hack in 3 years.
I had also learned about cars and that was the most fascinating thing. Although much didn't change about cars, the way it worked had only become more efficient. Both the diesel car and the electric car had seen major technological improvements, from more advanced engine to way better and efficient batteries with cycle life in 20,000+ cycles. I am glad that something from my story had remained, I was scared that this world would die quicker due to human greed, and with factories churning out cheap products which break faster. But all the products I have seen are of higher quality and work for longer periods of time.
I haven't ever seen Ambra change the tube light of this apartment, ever since I was born. From what I found was that planned obsolescence was under strict regulations, as governments had lost major access to minerals and mines thus many companies had to produce higher quality products which lasted longer, leading them to have less revenue and grow more reliant on governments.
Exiting I observe, that Brian was getting ready to leave as it was something around 6am. I immediately approach him, "Where are you going Brian?" asking innocently.
"Kid, I gotta go. I have to deliver a big parcel and will be out for the whole day. But if something happens you can call me, and I will ask Antonio to look after you and your mother. And Don't worry about a thing ok? Axel is here as well, it will take me some time but I will be come tomorrow. And Arwin don't be afraid of her, as long she can't hurt you here-'he points at my heart'-she can do nothing but shout, I-" his phone ringing interrupts him as he nods at me and takes the call.
I think of different ways to convince Brian to stay, as I didn't wanna be left alone with Ambra as it was brought very bad memories to the front of my mind. My relationship had taken for worse with her at the same it got better with Brian. At least once a week I had to endure her rant and her shouting directed at me, until one day it got worse and I was beaten by her that night. Next day when Brian came, seeing the bruises on my face and arms, made him fly into rage as he shouted at her only for her to bite back, and even threw things at me. I had to spend some days at Antonio's home, before she calmed down. After that day, she never touched me but that didn't mean she would miss the chance to demean me or try to emotionally scar me.
I couldn't come up with an argument without emotionally manipulating him. and I couldn't do such things, not to him atleast. He was a man worthy of respect, although I didn't know his past, I could tell thanks to Antonio's training. That he was trying to change himself for better, why? I didn't know but it could be due to Antonio's proximity.
Ambra reminded me of them, especially him. Brian had tried to fix her, to me she was a lost cause. I give a nod, as I couldn't swallow the thought of trying to manipulate him.
Watching Brian leave, felt being left vulnerable but I had already gone through this once, so I wave goodbye. She would be nothing new to what I have already gone through in my first life. I turn around and walk towards Ambra, watching her sleep peacefully. I get to my tablet and start reading through the material Antonio had left for me.
Hours pass by, sometimes I would focus on grasping new concepts, other times I would focus on re-reading the things I had already understood. Constantly changing between them, as I work on memorizing the theory for which I would need to work with a PC.
Hearing a loud groan, I turn to look where the sound came from and see that Ambra was slowly waking up. I watch her for a moment deciding whether to just leave the house or stay. I decide to stay, as I watch Axel help her up, slowly through groans. Axel gives her a concise explanation of what happened and where she was at the moment. She listens to Axel, which surprises me as it goes to make soup for her so she can take her medications afterwards.
Ambra still looked out of it, her gaze looked dull, constantly observing her surroundings, she takes notice of my gaze. On reflex I look down. Peeking at her from the corner of my eyes, as she plops back on the bed. I ignore her and try to work on my studies, but my attention unconsciously follows her movement. 'At this rate, I won't be able to concentrate.' Sighing. I stop my poor attempts to concentrate on my studies and decide to relax a bit since it is already evening and in time I can go to sleep.
I decide to binge watch an old anime series, the animation felt consistently high quality. To the point even I became curious of budget this studio must have, only to be shocked. There were people who worked, but it seemed that most of the repetitive and heavy weight work was done by AI. I became morbidly curious how these types of animation worked, checking on internet. I saw that it required an AI to be trained on one particular set of training data. So the artist of that studio would feed their animations to it and it would be able to replicate with their art style but would sometimes fail.
'Interesting, I mean it feels shit, that the bar was raised higher than before and it is being done by an AI but it takes away the issue of manpower and the need to draw repetitive drawing and allow studio to make overall higher quality animation, even with lower budget. I-'
"-are you ignoring me, you brat." *Cough! Cough!*
Her shouting immediately grabs my attention, as she groans from raising her voice.
"Didn't you hear me, you brat. Ugh. Where is Brian? He is the one who took me to the hospital, right? No! I know he is the one! The only one who cares about me in this fucked up world. He is the! ONE!" half-shoutingly asks.
"I, uh. He went away this morning, told he had a big parcel to deliver.", I respond without thinking, unnerved at how she spoke about Brian. 'He is the one? What the fuck does she mean by that?'
I look at her with suspicion as she starts to furiously tap on her phone, chatting to someone. Deciding that ignoring her is the best idea. Arwin returns to watching the anime, losing his sense of surroundings.
On the other side of the room, Ambra messages Brian and waits for a reply. As she would constantly picks up her phone to check, only to be disappointed to see her message being unread. Slowly the rate of her messaging increases as she waits less time to check whether he was read her message. Until her patience breaks, but she doesn't throw her phone away. No! if she destroys this phone then how can he come here and take her away from this city.
'No! I am going to be patient, of course I can be patient with him. Since he is the one who saved me from being kidnapped, those kidnappers wanted to take me away, but, but! he saved me and now I am in my home, safe? Of course, it was Brain who saved me and cares for me, he is definitely ignoring me to make me chase after him. NO! I am a strong woman, I am not a fickle bitch if he wants me, he needs to earn me.'
Intent on instead make him wait for her, she waits for 10 minutes.
'why, Why, WHY! WHY! WHHHHYYYYY!!!!!'
She tries to call him, but she gets no answer. As even if she hears ringing he won't pick up her call.
'Why won't he reply. I have been waiting for 2 hours already. Why won't he talk to me. He was always the one who came to my house, everyday! and now he wants to cut off with me? NO! I will not be used anymore. NO! NO! NO!NOOOO!'
Her attention falls on Brian, shouting, "Why won't he pick up my call, you fucker. What did you tell him?"
'What the fuck is she talking about? Who is not picking up her call? How is that my fault.'
Seeing the confused expression on the child's face, sends her into raging fury. 'How dare he try to fake it. He is the one who filled my sweet dear Brian's ear with shit, he is a liar.'
As Arwin tries to respond, "What do you mea-" only to be cut off by her screeching, sending shivers down his spine.
"IT IS ALWAYS YOU! YOU! BECAUSE OF YOU MRRON LEFT ME. BECAUSE OF YOU BRIAN IS TRYING TO RUN FROM ME."
"WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME, IF! IF! ONLY I DIDN'T GIVE BIRTH TO YOU, IF!-"
As if something directly changes as she stops shouting, as her eyes remain wide opened looking at Arwin. Axel comes over to her and tries to give her sleeping pills, only to receive silence.
'Whoa, I think she has definitely snapped. I didn't know that overdosing can crack your mind like that-' my musings are cut short, as she suddenly pushes Axel to the ground.
She makes a straight headway for me, scaring the shit out of me. I sit up from my the bed to get away from her, but she grabs me by the shoulder and throws me to the floor.
She sits on top of me, grabbing me by the collar of my warm shirt. She shouts at my face, "IF, IF YOU GO AWAY. MRRON WILL COME BACK TO ME. IF IF, YOU ARE GONE THEN WE CAN BE HAPPY TOGETHER." she maniacally smiles at me, with craze in her eyes.
'Holysh-'
*Crack*
She throws a right punch right at my face, but on pure instincts I was able to hold my tablet in front of my face. Shielding me, from what would have definitely left a fracture on my face. I try to pull on my strength to get away from this crazy bitch. Struggling.
'HAHAHA, SO WEAK! ALL MEN ARE SO WEAK! IF YOU ARE GONE HE WILL COME BACK. HE WILL DEFINITELY COMEBACK!!!!.'
I feel her hand snake up, around my neck. Trying to choke me out. In desperation, I hit her head with my tablet. Again and again, but with each precious moment my hits become weaker and weaker. I couldn't find a leverage to hit her strongly.
A blink of darkness flickers in my eyes, as I desperately try to breath, but she has caught my neck in her steel grip. With desperation I claw at her hands slowly chocking the life out of me.
'No, No, NO! I can't die here, not to this bitch. Not before I make them regret. Not... not...' the burning lack of oxygen slowly shuts down my brain. As all I could see was that maniacal smile on that vicious woman, as her face draws closer to me, saying something I couldn't hear.
I deck her in the chin with strongest punch I could muster, before my consciousness fades into darkness. I could see the shock and rage on her face. and a thought runs through my mind.
'I... should have supported you, Ah, I am.. sorry... lov....e'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
*Cough Cough*
I turn over to cough on the floor, to get the spit out of my mouth. As the burning sensation filling my lungs is abated by the cool air. I take short-heavy breaths to get as much oxygen to my brain. I could feel the sensation of life spreading from neck down to my body, I could see, but everything was incredibly blurry.
'What!!.. What happened? I seriously.... *Cough cough* thought I was gone. Where... where is that witch.'
I shake my head to see clearly, watching out for her in my surroundings. Seeing a scuffle as Axel had pinned her down, was constantly repeating the same message. "Please calm down, Ms. Ambra. Help is on the way."
She starts to hound out a scream, again and again. Only to then become silent as she starts coughing heavily.
Taking heavy breaths, I force myself to calm down. I search for my tablet, as I bend over to pick up, keeping my eyes on them. I could see the shivering in my hand, no matter what I did I couldn't stop the shivering in my hand. Somehow I am able to pick up my broken tablet. Barely able to grip it tightly.
I slowly walk closer to them, with Axel constantly repeating the same message while Ambra struggles underneath it. Only for her to stop, no longer hearing any scuffle, as the room goes dead silent.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YYYYOOOOUUUUUUU!!!!!!!"
She releases an utterly guttural shout, shaking me to my core. It was not a shout a human should be able to produce, but produce she did. Only for her next sentence to send chills down my spin, as I turn to run but not before throwing my tablet at the robot.
"AXEL CODE, CODE, CODE. KILL HIM! KILL THAT CHILD!"
I didn't care for anything at that instant, I immediately opened the door and ran bare footed. I turn to staircase in hurry and jumped stairs, sometimes making the jump, sometimes slamming against the wall. Barely able to stay afoot, as the prickly sensations spread against my back and right arm, but I ignore it and run.
Getting out of the building I make a direct run towards the only place I knew to go without getting lost, the playground. I run and run, not stopping until I reach that safehaven, not stopping even when my lungs burn and until I feel like someone has kicked me in my kidneys. Feeling my naked foot slap against icy cold asphalt. I run.
I run from the place I once called a home.