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34 - Those That Care

Little China

April 14th

2069

Sophie’s senses returned slowly as she began to stir. The first thing she noticed was the stiffness in her body, suggesting a prolonged time laying down. Even with her eyes closed, she could tell that there was a bright overhead light above her, humming softly. Covering her as she lay on some kind of comfortable mattress was a soft blanket.

The realisation made her pause, even as she was waking. Her breathing quickened. This wasn’t her hideout. Where was she? Her most recent memories seemed scattered, though they were gradually clicking into place. Still, her body reacted on instinct.

Sophie shot upright, though the sudden movement sent a wave of pain crashing through her torso. Her left side burned with an ache that felt too deep to be superficial, and her head throbbed like she’d been struck with a mallet. She grimaced, clutching her right arm to her side.

She froze as metal made contact with her bandaged skin, rather than the expected flesh. She looked down immediately, noticing the absence of her arm. Well, her biological arm. Where flesh and bone should have been was a basic, clean cybernetic limb.

It ran from her fingertips all the way to her shoulder, with an obvious elbow joint. It was mostly black with small hints of silver and it held a dull gleam under the bright lighting. She reached for it with her other hand, only to stop as a familiar voice called out.

“Easy, kid,” someone said, stepping into view. The voice was calm and quiet, as though talking to a skittish animal. “You’re safe.”

As Sophie’s wide eyes darted toward him, she fumbled around, searching for a weapon. Her breathing was shallow, and for a moment, the person must have thought she might bolt or lash out. They raised their hands, palms out, a gesture of peace. “It’s okay. You’re at my clinic. You’ve been out for a week.”

She didn’t reply immediately, her gaze scanning the room for exits or threats. Finally, her eyes landed on the speaker again. Her vision was still blurry from waking up and she stared at the speaker intensely. Her voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper. “Vik? Is that you? What... happened?”

“You were in bad shape when Misty found you,” he explained, pulling a stool closer and sitting down. “You made it to the clinic somehow, but you were unconscious, bleeding out. Had your severed arm next to you, gave Misty a real fright.” He paused. “It was too far gone to save. The nerves were burned and it had already gotten infected. I had to remove the rest of the arm and replace it.”

Sophie’s gaze dropped back to the limb. She flexed her fingers experimentally, watching as they responded with mechanical precision. “Even you couldn’t reattach it?” she asked. She vaguely remembered pulling her arm out of her inventory in the hopes it could be saved.

Vik shook his head. “No. I might be good but the damage was too severe, and the time it would’ve taken to preserve and reattach it... you wouldn’t have made it.”

Sophie nodded, though her expression betrayed nothing. She stared at the arm for a moment longer, then looked away, eyes unfocused.

“You scared the hell out of Misty and me, you know,” Vik said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Showing up half-dead like that.”

Sophie’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t respond.

“I’m sure you’ve already figured it out from the pain but it wasn’t just the arm. I had to replace multiple ribs and even the ones I could save needed time to heal properly.” Vik continued, his tone softening. “Whatever you’re doing out there? It’s not sustainable. Bleeding out on the streets, losing an arm for whatever reason? You’re walking a fine line, kid.

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She met his gaze finally, a defensive expression on her face. “What do you want me to do then?”

“Start thinking and caring about yourself,” Vik said firmly. “This is the kind of behaviour I’d expect from someone who wants to die. I don’t think that’s who you are. Stop treating your life like it’s expendable.”

“What would you know! You don’t know me!” She shouted, trembling. Even she didn’t know why she responded that way. Vik looked at her with a sad smile.

“When we first met, you said you wanted, no-needed, to survive. That was one of the reasons why I gave you that subdermal. But this?” He gestured at her bandaged body. “This doesn’t look like survival. The blood that covered you when you showed up? Most of it wasn’t yours. You’re on some kind of crusade. I won’t pretend to know why, but what you’re doing? It’s gonna get you killed.”

His words hit too close to home and Vik could tell as her whole body drooped. He continued, “I may not understand what’s going on for you but that doesn’t mean I can’t. If you need someone to talk to, as a friend or confidant, I’m here. I’d hate to see you dead on the streets for behaving like this, alone and without anyone to help you.”

The words hung heavy in the air. Sophie didn’t reply, her expression unreadable as she lost herself in thoughts. Vik opened his mouth to say more but before he could press further, the sound of light footsteps interrupted them.

Misty stepped into the room, her eyes widening slightly when she saw Sophie awake. “Oh, thank god,” she said, exhaling a breath of relief. “You had us worried.”

Sophie tensed slightly, her gaze shifting to Misty. She wasn’t sure what the older girl was talking about, considering they’d never met.

Misty crossed the room quickly, standing at the edge of the bed. “You’ve got no idea how close it was. If you hadn’t gotten here when you did…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “What were you thinking, going out there like that?”

Sophie opened her mouth to speak, but Misty held up a hand. “No, don’t give me an excuse. I’m sure you have plenty. But whatever it is, it’s not worth killing yourself over.”

The younger girl sat there, mouth open like a fish. Vik took that moment to jump in. “She’s got a point, kid.”

Sophie looked between the two of them, her face unreadable. She could feel the warmth in their concern. It was something she had decided she never wanted again, not after what happened with Mia. Even still, it made her chest feel tight. She wasn’t sure if it was guilt, anger, or something else entirely.

“You don’t have to do this alone, you know,” Misty added, her voice softening. “Whatever you’re going through, whatever you’re fighting for... it doesn’t have to be this way. You’ve got people willing to help. To support you.”

Sophie’s gaze dropped to her lap. The weight of their words pressed down on her, though she couldn’t bring herself to respond. What could she say? That she didn’t deserve their concern? That their kindness was wasted on someone like her? That she didn’t want to be friends? That they’d die if they got too close to her, like everyone else?

She clenched her jaw, unwilling to let her thoughts show. The silence stretched, but neither Misty nor Vik pushed her for an answer.

Eventually, Misty placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and Sophie flinched slightly, though she didn’t look up, either. “Take your time,” Misty said softly. “We’re here when you’re ready.”

With that, Misty and Vik exchanged a glance before stepping away to give her some space. Sophie sat alone, staring at the surface of her new arm. Their words echoed in her mind, but she didn’t know how to process them.

-----------------------

Around half an hour later, while Sophie was still lost in thought, she heard footsteps. She looked over as Vik sat down next to her.

“You wanna talk about it?” She looked at him for a moment, then shook her head. Before he could say anything else though, she spoke up.

“Can you, uh, tell me a bit about how cyberware works? Like this arm, for example?” He smiled at her.

“Course I can. Generally, most chrome is split into five different tiers. They’re constantly shifting though, due to newly developed tech. Your arm would be considered the lowest tier of cyberarm available.”

“Why’s that?” She interrupted.

“Well, that arm’s only purpose is to replace your biological arm. It’s just an advanced prosthetic, no fancy features. The subdermal I gave you previously, and repaired when you showed up, also fits this tier. It’s good against small cuts, abrasions, maybe a little bit of blunt force and really small caliber bullets. Anything more than that? Practically useless.”

“I see…So what about the other tiers?”

“Well, the higher up you go, the more advanced and fancy the chrome gets. A second tier arm would have artificial muscles and be significantly more powerful. It might even have some hidden features. Likewise, subdermal would be able to mitigate significantly more damage.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “I should warn you, the more advanced the chrome gets, the more expensive it becomes. Unless you’ve got a heap of eddies available, I wouldn’t be thinking of getting any upgrades.”

Sophie’s eyes flickered to the system notifications she had yet to open. She knew they may provide her the resources she needed for an upgrade. She was tempted to have a look but decided they could wait.

“I’ll keep that in mind, and thanks for explaining. But, um, how long do I have to stay until I can leave?”

“I’d like to keep you here for a day or so, then I’ll let you go.” He stood up, stretching a bit as he spoke. “And Sophie? Think about what Misty and I have said. If you need help or just someone to talk to, we’re here. I’ll send you our contacts too.” She quickly received two sets of contact details.

“Thanks Vik,” she murmured. A hand landed on her head, ruffling her hair a bit. A beep sounded on the other side of the room and he looked over. He turned back and spoke to her.

“No worries kiddo. I’ll come check on you soon, alright?” With that, the doctor walked away and Sophie returned to her thoughts.