So where was I? Oh yes. On a bus. From the looks of things we have yet to reach our ... my ... 'final destination'. I wonder if I should just have my mars bar now or ... no ... no point rushing thing.

It looks like it's about 11 pm ... the street lights are all on. Like little check points in a game. Growing brighter as you approach and dimmer as you pass. Sigh ...

I know! How about a bedtime story? Anything you want to hear in particular?

... My story? Oh well if you insist then.

I believe I was going to talk about the award system next. It went like this...

1 - a hug

10 - a kiss on the forehead

50 - a lullaby before bed

100 - a story before bed

200 - a TV episode sanctioned by my ... keepers.

500 - a mars bar

1000 - lessons in an instrument of my choosing

10,00,000 - outside

I stood perfectly still. My heart didn't even dare to beat. I carefully scanned granny's face. Looking to see any of the signs of deceit as my grandfather's memories taught me too. When I could finally be assured of the truth in her words I let out my first genuine smile.

I asked them to set an A level mission for me that day.

I wanted to go outside so bad I almost burnt myself out within 3 days. 1 A level a day left my mind in shambles. It took me a week to get my head straight and I was heavily reprimanded. No mars bars, points or no points, for a month!

I quickly prepared a new regiment. Due to my strict time schedule I could attempt only one mission a day. So I organised myself.

2 C, 2 B, 1 A and 2 D level missions in that order every week for the foreseeable future. I kept to this regiment so religiously that I started to refer to the days as C1,C2,B1, ... and so on. I never understood why the lab workers complained about C1.

D1 and D2 helped me recover from the aftermath that followed A.

Slowly I got used to my time table and I begin to think of the outside. Given my schedule I would get 2300 points a week. Well ... 1700 after taking into account my weekly mars bar. I guess I also seldom paid for a hug or two ... maybe a story.

So I had an average of 1300 points a week or about 5200 points a month give or take.

That meant that I should be outside in about 200 days!

... I was so naive.

1. I hadn't taken into account the days it would take when they had to do maintenance work or update the machine and program. This alone took up whole weeks.

2. My ... enhancements also took time to get adjusted ... sometimes my body would reject them and it wasn't a pretty sight.

3. I would lose out on points if my performance was unsatisfactory. This rule was proposed and endorsed by my grandfather. He did make an exception for the A class missions though.(A small consolation but beggars can't be choosers)

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4. My grandfather was hard to please. (Did I mention that my granddad was a pain in the sphincter?)

And so instead of my estimated 200 days ... it took 2 years.

My body was broken and reforged so often during this time that I lost count Physically I was kept close enough to death that I could feel her coming. Every week I did an A class mission. Each week I died.

My personal hell for two years. Home sweet home.

...

I am now 8 years old. I have met my quota and I shall reap my reward. Fresh air. Open skies. Things I have only felt and seen in the memories of others. So familiar yet so alien.

I am almost shaking out of nervousness. I haven't shook like this in a long while. I did shake as I was eaten alive by worms. I didn't so much as quiver when stripped each and every single one of my muscle fibers an then ... put them back. Hell I was rather impressed.

But now I was more tense than a drawn bow. Fearing that this was a dream. Fearing more that it would turn out to be a nightmare instead. I don't know if I could take that.

My grandfather was wearing a high tier mech suit. It was much more compact than it's lower tier counterparts. It made him, a man who could kick my three ways from D2, into a mobile tank capable of wiping out entire enemy platoons. Platoons with mech suits of their own mind you!

On top of this I was to be blindfolded and tied till we were outside. I heard granny's voice a distance away and so I called out to her and she told me to enjoy myself. I almost didn't notice how sad she sounded.

I was led to a metallic floored room and the automated door closed.

Suddenly the floor shook and I was instantly alert trying to identify the source of the shaking. It took 2 second and the chuckling of my grandfather for me to realize that I was in an elevator.

I was glad they taught me how to make a poker face as me rapidly ascended. We took a minute to reach... the surface(I assume) meaning that the base must be buried quite deep. I made a note of this as the elevator doors slowly opened.

My heart was racing. 2 years of waiting. All my blood sweat and tears leading up to this glorious moment. A moment I shall never forget as long as I breathe!

I felt my grandfathers steady hands undo my restraints before carefully removing my blind fold.

I took in a breath as I felt a breeze for the first time and tasted all manner of things in the air as if I was feasting on it.

I braced myself and then I opened my eyes.