It felt like a hot crowbar twisting deeper with each passing second.The excruciating pain in my shoulder consumed my thoughts. Despite clenching my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut, the pain persisted. It had become more than a physical sensation, as if it had penetrated my soul. I thought I was going to die from the pain, but suddenly I felt something cold near my neck. The next thing I knew, the pain had disappeared.

'Zack, Zack, and Mother Vishla, it should have worked by now. Zack, open your eyes, you bald horn...' At that moment, I felt a slap on my cheek and opened my eyes abruptly.A peculiar girl was hovering in front of me. The initial detail that drew my attention was the presence of an implant in place of one of her eyes. The implant was peculiar in nature, extending from her eye to her temple and then to her ear, where it disappeared beneath her hair. 'What's wrong with you?' I felt the sting of a slap once more. 'This is not the time. We have to hurry. Are you okay? Can you stand up?' she inquired. It was only then that I realised I had been lying on the ground the entire time.

'I suppose so,' I replied to the girl, shifting my legs. As soon as I heard my voice, I froze; it was definitely not my voice.

'What's wrong with you, Zach? Come on, get up. In three minutes, the police will be here. We need to prepare to leave.' The girl began pulling on my right hand and, surprisingly, lifted me to my feet. I would never have thought that such thin, fragile hands could possess so much strength. She looked suspiciously into my eyes and said, "There's definitely something wrong with you." I looked around, trying to understand where I was. It was unfamiliar, and I wasn't even sure if I was still in Ukraine. "Now listen to me," she continued, "do what I say, and then we'll figure out what's wrong with your head."

I replied, "I understand," and pulled myself together. It was evident that something dangerous was occurring here. Upon inspecting my left shoulder, I was horrified to see that it had turned black. The wound appeared to have blackened bones visible. However, I did not feel any pain. Recalling the girl's words, I nodded in agreement. She had injected me with something to alleviate the pain. As she was concerned about my well-being, I decided to heed her advice and deal with the situation in a safer location.” What should I do?”

As I was contemplating my next move, she moved away from me and began extracting what appeared to be a motorcycle from a container against the wall. However, this motorcycle lacked wheels and was suspended in the air at a height of twenty centimetres. Despite my surprise at the sight, I managed to catch the gun and quickly grasped how to handle it. I pressed the buttons on the side of the barrel, and it unfolded around my right hand.It felt like an extension of my arm.The girl nervously shouted.

"Come on, sit down," as she flew up to me. I tried not to think about what I was seeing; it was not the right time.'We'll leave through the third plan,' she said. Seeing my lack of reaction, she asked, 'Zack, what's wrong with you?'

"I don't remember anything," I answered truthfully. It was no longer worth concealing the truth, as my life could depend on it.

"Oh, mother Vishla," she continued to curse in an unknown language, and then said, "Sit behind me, shoot off the tin cans. We'll figure it out later."

After these words, I sat down behind the girl with my back to her on her flying bike. Almost instantly, the straps that secured me to it flew out. And the next moment I had no time to think. The container from which the girl had pumped out her bike shattered into pieces. Some fragments flew in our direction, but the girl quickly turned her bike around and sped away.

For a few seconds, I feared being torn apart by the straps. It was then that I noticed a dozen flying spheres that immediately opened fire on us. Without hesitation, I aimed my weapon and returned fire.Almost every shot found its target, but it wasn't enough. The spheres were enveloped by something invisible. Only on the fifth shot did one shatter. We then emerged from the dark tunnel into a wide, well-lit one filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of other flying vehicles.

Almost immediately, the intensity of fire from the tins decreased. They were clearly afraid of hitting someone else. For the next half hour, I did nothing but shoot back at these spheres. There were no fewer of them, only more. New ones flew in to replace the destroyed ones. Thanks to the skillful piloting of an unknown girl, we were able to escape.

Suddenly, I felt a jolt and then darkness. My eyes quickly adjusted, but fear consumed me. We were in space, without spacesuits or any protective gear. In front of me, a massive hole in the hull of what appeared to be a spaceship or space station was expelling debris into the void. Before I could fully comprehend the situation, I felt another forceful push and we were back inside.After a few more minutes of flying through dark and empty corridors, the girl stopped abruptly.

'We made it!' she exclaimed, laughing as she dismounted the bike. 'Did you see how I left the Red Sector?Those people must have had enough for one day. They're probably calling in Xarlex's security as we speak.'

"While shooting at tin cans, I didn't take the time to observe my surroundings." I replied, dismounting the bike cautiously. " What were those metal objects?"

"Oh, shit, you really don't know what those things are?", The girl's tone became serious.

"I am unaware of the type of metal, my location, my involvement, or even your identity." I exclaimed in frustration.

"What a bald-headed bastard." The girl cursed. "Leah, compose yourself. Nothing terrible has happened, you have survived. " She began to mumble, but I heard her words. " Yes, we have arrived." Only now have I realized that we have been speaking an unknown language, but I still understood her. "Zach, this is such bad timing." She walked over to the bike and started banging her head against it. " Ouch, it hurts, but you know what? I feel better."

" Leah, I apologize for yelling, but please explain everything to me."

"Do you recall my name?"

"Unfortunately, I do not. I just heard you speaking a moment ago."

"There is no time for conversation now. We have bought some time, but we need to reach a safe place. The police will arrive soon, and they won't be sending robots this time. Now we need to get to the organic waste bunker in bay seventeen. Only the outcasts live there,' she explained, so I could understand at least something. "The reactor has been out of order for a century. It is not advisable to go there without antiradiation drugs unless you want to die of radiation sickness. " She smiled and I asked if she had any antiradiation drugs. I definitely did not want to die from radiation.

" You have them," she replied, taking two capsules from the pocket of my overalls. "We have two days, after which we should head to a more civilized place."

"Do you think they won't follow us there?"

I asked, grimacing in pain.

"Not right away. You'd have to be a real scumbag to go into the seventeenth bay," Leah answered, taking a small box out of the bike's case fixed on her back.

"So we are real scumbags," I resigned myself.

"It's true, we are like that. We all have to go."

Leah and I headed towards a place she knew, where we could watch the speeder exploded in front of witnesses in eight minutes.

I asked Leah if she still had the pain relief drug she gave me earlier because my shoulder was starting to hurt again.

"I have administered the maximum safe dosage. You currently have more chemicals in your system than blood. Fortunately, there is a repairman in the bunker who can patch you up. However, you must be patient until then, unless you want to risk an overdose. What will you do?"

"I'll be patient," I replied. "While we're walking, please tell me where we are."

"We are in sector ten forty-three, one of the first sectors of Xarlex. After the reactor crashed, people started relocating to newer sectors, and only those who couldn't afford to move stayed here. And of course, we stayed too," Leah smiled.

"Can you give me an overview of Xarlex? " I asked the girl, trying to form a mental image of the world around me.

"Don't you remember anything about it? I've heard of such things, only mindscanning can help. "

"What is it?"

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Mindscanning is a procedure where they copy your memory to artificial intelligence and then overwrite it back to you.This way you can restore the memory you've lost access to." I was confused, but Leah explained me and she opened the new airtight door. Beyond it lay a real swamp, and although she didn't want to go into it, she had to.

"I sense a tone in your voice, but... " I didn't want to undergo a mental examination and risk losing myself.

"I've heard that the Mindscanning is only conducted in sector two hundred and thirty-nine and exclusively for their citizens, so you won't be able to take it. As for Xarlex, it's the planet below us, or rather, a nuclear dump. That's all that remains of it. This station is now called Xarlex, and it's where the survivors have relocated. "

Our conversation ended abruptly as my shoulder began to throb with increasing intensity. Leah seemed to recall something and was no longer interested in continuing. I struggled to keep from falling into shock and forced myself to keep moving. I lost track of time as we walked, my focus solely on the pain in my shoulder. Suddenly, it was over. One moment we were walking, and the next, I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness.

The second awakening was an improvement over the first, despite some lingering pain in my shoulder. However, the discomfort was minimal, allowing me to quickly open my eyes and survey my surroundings. I found myself lying on a table with a soiled towel beneath my shoulder. The walls and shelves were adorned with various robot parts, including a mechanical finger, a complete arm, and several humanoid metal heads. My gaze was drawn to these heads, and I was caught staring.

"The Indigo Seven series were the best nannies for children. This was my nanny. 'An old man with a long beard, approached the heads of the robots and said, 'He then pointed to another robots, " Mandrida series thirty-six. They were the best 'quiet' killers. It was from them that the tactical computer for faking cops was copied.' the old man said with disgust.

The old man lovingly pointed to the robot and said, "This one, the Series sixty-one Himrat, is the reason we can still communicate. They turned the tide of the war and forced the Khinorians to negotiate. Without them, none of us would be here." The old man even patted the robot's head. Now, he turned to me abruptly and stared at me with his artificial eyes. It was clear that they were definitely not organic. "I restored the functionality of your shoulder at the request of my great-granddaughter."

Only now did I notice that my left shoulder was covered with metal, like a backpack that covered my entire shoulder, part of my neck, and arm almost to the elbow. I did not like it very much, but after moving my arm, I realized that it was much better than losing my arm completely. 'Great-granddaughters?'

"Did she not inform you? I recognize this cunning and vain woman. Yes, she is my great-granddaughter, but that is not relevant. I had to use the spare parts of the Himrat for you. I want to note that this was the last shoulder segment, not only for me, but probably for the entire station.

I immediately understood his implication and asked, 'What do I owe you?'

Leah’s Grandpa mentioned an old man named Yengen's shop in sector eight hundred and twelve who had helped him with a couple of contracts. He believed that the shop might have some parts for the third series Villiers in stock.

“Grandpa, don't start, you promised me,” I heard Leah's voice, and she had just opened the workshop door.

"Woman, do not interrupt a man's conversation," the old man said, turning to his great-granddaughter.

'Grandpa, don't bother, I remember...'

'That's it, that's it, we've forgotten,' the old man interrupted. 'But Liarna, you must understand that I spent a lot of money on expensive spare parts from Himrat for your boyfriend.'

"He's not my boyfriend," Leah exclaimed, moving towards her great-grandfather.

" Well, not yet, but he will be in the future. Please hurry up and have great-great-grandchildren or I'll have to give him a penis ... ouch," Grandpa shouted as Leah threw some spare parts from the robot at him, "that was a finger from En Seven, it's worth at least three hundred credits now ... ouch, and this is a servo from Uch Nine, seven hundred and fifty credits."

Leah took the head of her grandfather's nanny droid in her hands and said, 'Well, you always stopped on your nanny.' She continued, 'Zack, we have to go. I've arranged for Brailo to buy the energy cell. He'll never give money to a woman for anything.'

"So maybe I should come with you?" the grandfather asked his great-granddaughter.

"Let it stay that way. I don't need all the bounty hunters coming here,'

Leah replied.

'At least take some weapons from the warehouse,' said her grandfather, disappointed.

'I just don't need to walk around with a weapon from the red list,' Leah rolled her eyes to the ceiling. 'Grandpa, no, I won't take it. I'm nervous enough. I had to use a disintegrator twice when I left. They can send someone special."

"Forget it, buying a disintegrator on the black market is not a problem now. Sebas Mor from the central sector has learned how to make them. They only have a dozen shots and less power, but the price is only ten thousand. Many people can afford a disintegrator. Were you shooting on minimum wage?"

"Yes, just like you taught me," Leah replied.m"Okay, grandpa, we have to go. Thanks again for fixing my partner."

"Only a partner?" her grandfather asked with a smile.

"I haven't gone far yet," Leah nodded at the robot nanny's head.

"You are so ridiculously angry, if only grandma could see you," said grandpa. "Go ahead and go, there are pilot suits in your room, not combat suits, of course, but you didn't want to take them."

"Grandpa, those suits cost hundreds of thousands of credits now. If we wear combat suits, we'll draw too much attention and the whole station will be after us. The pilot's suits look similar to the technical ones and only cost a couple thousand each."

As soon as we left Leah's grandfather's workshop, she leaned against the wall, exhausted. She sat there silently for a few minutes before opening her eyes.

"I love my family, but sometimes they are impossible to stand." Then she added, "The meeting with Brailo is not until tomorrow, but we'd better get going." She threw me a pill, which I recognized as an antirad that she had taken from my pocket. "There is a rather strong level of radiation outside the door. If you don't have the appropriate mutation, it's better not to go without antirad."

"Why did you tell me about your grandfather? If you could have woken me up outside his house. I don't know who he is, but based on what you said, it's dangerous to know he's here."

"I didn't want to tell you, but Grandpa put you through a few simulations. He said you didn't really remember anything, but despite that, you didn't betray me in any of the simulations. Actually, the main reason I brought you here was to test you. Zach was a very close friend of mine."

"Did we do it?" I nervously asked Leah, not wanting to cheat on my wife.

"No, I'm fed up with this," Leah replied. "Grandpa, you. I didn't sleep with you. We're just close friends, and I won't leave you in trouble. Now be quiet and put on your mask. It's not desirable for radioactive dust to get inside your body."

As soon as we walked out of Leah's grandfather's house through the gateway, everything changed. Although the inside was modern and high-tech, the exterior was pitch black and littered with garbage. There was no indication of the advanced technology within, except for a neon sign featuring a picture of a naked woman glowing about a hundred meters away.

Leah silently led us away from the sign, and after fifty meters, she turned around and kicked a pile of garbage, unaware of the other people. Almost instantly, a small sphere flew out from under the garbage. After scanning both me and Leah, the flying object disappeared under the garbage again. Leah nodded and led me to a side tunnel where we stopped at an airlock. Although it looked worse than the one in Leah's grandfather's house, it still worked.

A man with greenish skin and no mask greeted us at the gateway, saying, 'Leah, my girl, why didn't you write that you were going to visit home?'

"Akas, I am glad to see you too" - Leah hugged the man and said, "He's my pickpocketing teacher," waving the man's credit card as she stepped away from him.

Akas laughed and returned the card with a subtle gesture. "And who are you?"

Leah replied, "He's my partner, and he's the reason I had to come down here. You remember that I wouldn't have come down here of my own free will."

"I remember how you ran upstairs as soon as you could," Akas smiled and opened the inner door of the airlock. "Leah, I hope you'll find an hour for me and share stories about your life?"

"Yes, teacher, I'll put my partner to bed now. He is still weak, and then I will come down. I wouldn't mind meeting Pierne and Envila. Are they here?" Leah asked Akas, but noticing his expression, she asked, " When and how?"

"Three years ago, Pierne was killed during a mission when he encountered military personnel instead of the usual civilian security system."

"Who gave the tip?" Leah asked, clenching her fists.

"Cigarna. She has already paid the price; the estate owners found her. Every month, we find a piece of her body," Akas replied.

"And Envila?" Leah inquired.

"It was an accident," Akas responded. "While walking through Nroma market after work, two flyers collided near her, and a piece of debris pierced her temple, causing instant death," according to Akas.

Leah asked, barely holding back tears, 'Who else is in my class?'

Akas replied, 'Unfortunately, only you are left.' He explained that the level of radiation has been increasing lately, and not everyone has the opportunity to live in protected houses like his or Leah's grandfather's. The mutation does not guarantee safety. "If this continues, we may need to relocate to a cleaner area."

Leah responded, 'They definitely won't want to.' She paused and looked into Akas's eyes, 'Is it because of the rumors about empty military equipment warehouses spreading on the network?'

Akas smiled sadly and replied, 'You've always been a smart girl. Go tuck in your partner and come down to the living room. I'll give you something to eat and we'll talk.'

As soon as we climbed the stairs to the second floor and entered the room, I asked her if it was safe there and why she didn't stay with her grandfather.

She replied, 'As safe as possible,' but then added, 'so we don't discuss anything about our business.' Leah left the room to meet her pickpocketing teacher, and I decided to go to bed as I was feeling tired. I will have time to process everything I learned tomorrow.