The old factory was just a death trap for stupid kids and homeless people at this point. It had been abandoned for over a decade and the place was notorious for being extremely hazardous. The city had finally decided to tear it down after several reports of people going missing and turning up dead inside the building. The bodies that were found were always mangled past the point of recognition and showed signs that their injuries were caused by some kind of machinery within the factory. No one had been able to determine exactly how they died, though. Many rumors had spread around about the place being haunted, which had the unfortunate result of making it a popular place for the local teens and middle schoolers to break into.
“Jesus, this building is massive! What did they even build here?”
“All sorts of shit. Cars, home appliances, airplane parts, power tools, other stuff. Ashford Robotics was a huge company back in the 80s to the early 2000s.”
“What made them go out of business?”
“They never actually went out of business, they’re just much smaller. They were forced by the government to shut down all their large factories due to legal issues.”
“What kind of legal issues?”
“There were huge employee strikes, customer protests, and huge OSHA violations. But of course, that wasn’t enough to shut it down. However, when the company was legally investigated they found something so bad that the government had to put its foot down.”
“What was it?”
“That’s the thing. No one knows.”
Devon and Chelsea’s boss interrupted the conversation: “Hey, you two are here to look for assholes who snuck in, not make idle chit-chat.”
Chelsea rolled her eyes.
Before the building could be demolished, the factory needed to be cleared of anyone who may still be inside. Chelsea was told she was there to get any homeless folks out, but she knew a large part of her job was going to involve looking for any human remains that may still be on the premises. She didn’t feel like she was getting paid nearly enough to be spending hours in a dangerous abandoned factory looking for dead bodies, but work was work.
The cleanup crew was paired off into teams and each assigned a section of the factory to search. The one Chelsea and her co-worker were assigned looked like a factory room that was intended for making car parts. It was a massive room and probably not very safe. Chelsea could hear the metal scaffolding creaking around her, the sound reminding her of human moans. It sent a chill down her spine.
“Damn, it’s gonna take fucking forever to clear this place!” Devon complained.
As soon as their boss left, they got to work. Despite how rusty, vandalized, and unsettling the place was, there were surprisingly no rodents around. Usually, abandoned buildings like this were crawling with them. For some reason, this made Chelsea unnerved. Where were all the mice and rats? There weren’t even any droppings.
“FUCK!” Devon yelled.
“What?!” Chelsea ran to him.
“Up there!”
It was something dead, or what was left of it anyway. It clearly wasn’t human, maybe a cat? It was difficult to tell what animal it was. All that was left was a fleshy mangled spine dangling out of a vent. Chelsea saw plenty of dead cats in her line of work, but this one was particularly unsettling. Why was it up there? And…why did it look fresh?
“Come on, let’s get back to work,” said Chelsea.
The next few hours into their shift were uneventful, but Chelsea couldn’t help but feel like something wasn’t right. Every so often, she’d think she’d hear weird sounds coming from the vents; but she chalked it all up to being in an old, creepy building. She and Devon would chat back and forth every now and then, talking about anything to pass the time. Half-way into their shift, Chelsea asked Devon how he was doing but got no reply.
“Devon?” Chelsea called out to her co-worker. “You good?”
Still no reply.
There was no sign of him, either. She tried to contact him on her walkie talkie.
“Devon? Where are you?”
She heard the sound of her own garbled voice coming from somewhere on the other end, but still no reply from Devon.
“Did he leave his walkie?”
She called his number on her phone. She heard his phone ringing from somewhere, just like his walkie. She followed the sound of the phone and nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized where it was coming from: The vent.
“Leave.”
Chelsea froze. That wasn’t Devon’s voice.
“Devon? Did you find someone in there?” She called out, hoping that her co-worker had just climbed in to drag out some junkie.
“You n-n-need to leave.”
Chelsea peeked into the vent’s opening. There was a strange red light at the end.
“Hello?”
“Get out! Get out before I-“
Chelsea could barely run a thought through her head before long mechanical tendrils shot out of the vent and wrapped around her arms. The red light grew brighter as she was yanked through the vent.
“I’M SORRY! I’M SO SORRY!”
She never even got the chance to see what dragged her through the vent. All she saw was the blinding red light. And then…
Crunch.
_______________________________
Date: October 7th, 2006
Name: Ricardo Mateo Garcia
Born: Nov 25th, 1987
Please list any diagnosed health conditions or disabilities:
PTSD, general anxiety disorder, ADHD, paralysis from the waist down, stuttering, possibility of cancer returning, HIV.
Reason for applying:
I was born with HIV and likely won’t make it to my mid-30s. When I was 12 years old I had my left arm (dominant arm) amputated at the shoulder due to bone cancer. And when I was 16 I was paralysed from waist down during my father’s attempted murder-suicide. My life has been greatly impacted by these events and I can no longer take part in many things I once enjoyed. I’m desperate to try anything that will improve my quality of life.
Do you have any living family members?:
No
That last question was a bit weird, but Ricky didn’t pay much mind to it. He hit ‘submit’ and that was that.
Words appeared on the screen: “Thank you for submitting your application for Ashford Robotics’ revolutionary new program! You should get an email response in 2-3 days.”
Excitement and anxiety would certainly be keeping Ricky up that night.
“You submit it yet?” Jax asked from the bed.
“Yea,” Ricky responded. “I’m really n-n-nerv-“
“Hey, come here.”
Ricky closed his laptop and lifted himself onto the bed next to Jax. Jax snuggled up closer to him.
“Whatever happens, I’ll always be here for you, okay?”
“I just…I want my life back.”
Jax squeezed his hand. “Even if this doesn’t work out, we’ll figure something out that'll make things better for you. I promise.”
Their Yorkshire terrier, who was laying on Jax’s chest, got to give Ricky a few licks on the nose.
“See? Even Pepper has your back.”
Ricky smiled and scratched Pepper on the rump, right where she liked it. One of her little back legs kicked in delight.
“I just can’t stop thinking about what I might be able to do again if I get accepted. I really miss when we used to go to the s-s-skatepark as kids. I’ll probably have to re-learn a lot of my skateboard tricks, since I’m really out of practice, but I don’t care.”
“Hey, if you don’t get accepted I bet you can still learn how to do tricks in a wheelchair! Remember that army vet without any legs we used to see at the skatepark all the time when we were in middle school? Everyone thought he was the coolest guy there!”
“He also had two arms, Jax.”
“Oh, yea….”
Ricky flipped over to his side to face Jax.
“You know what else I miss doing? I miss running, swimming, and climbing. Gosh I…I always took those things for granted when I was younger.” He affectionately began to caress Jax’s face. “If this works out, I wanna do everything with you. M-M-Mmaybe I could even…Maybe I could even be a better partner.”
“Come on dude, how many times do I have to tell you I like you just the way you are? You’re the best person I’ve ever dated!”
“Jax, you know what I-“
“I know what you mean! And I’m telling you don’t care.”
“Do you? I mean, even I get really fr-frustrated that we can’t-“
Jax sighed. “Alright. I won’t lie, I also get a bit frustrated. But it’s not myself I feel bad for. I hate that I can’t satisfy you in any way. I hate that I’m always on the receiving end during sex while you feel nothing.”
“Aw Jax, it’s okay. I enjoy it, I really do. I just… I guess I just feel like I’m not doing enough for you.”
Ricky started anxiously fiddling with Pepper’s collar as she was curled beside him.
“Listen man, you do more than enough for me. Shagging is fun and all, but I see you as so much more than something I can stick my dick in.”
Ricky could feel his eyes start to water. “I just hate f-f-f-feeling s-s-so- So useless.”
“Hey! That's your dad talking. You aren’t useless!” Jax kissed Ricky on the forehead. “I’d be dead right now if it weren’t for you. You’re the reason I decided not to jump off the roof of my parent’s apartment building back in 8th grade.”
“God I…I don’t know how I would have gotten through school without you.”
“Same here.” Jax ran his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair. “And you know what else? I bet you can do wheelchair tricks at the skatepark even with one arm!”
Ricky sat up and pulled himself back onto his chair.
“Where you going?”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep tonight. I’m just gonna draw for a while or s-something.”
Pepper hopped up onto his lap.
“Wow, traitor. I even fed you this morning!” Jax said to Pepper jokingly.
“You going to bed?” Ricky asked.
“Nah, I’m gonna try to stay up with you.”
“Cool. But if you fall asleep on me l-like last time I’m gonna doodle on your face again.”
“You are a menace to society, Ricky Garcia!”
“Heheh, I do my best.”
________________________________________
1 WEEK LATER
“I still can’t believe this is happening! It f-feels like I’m dreaming!”
Ricky was jumping up and down in his chair so much that Jax was afraid he would fall out. His excitement was rubbing off on Pepper and she was wiggling and licking his face so much he could barely hold onto her.
Their bus stopped in front of the Ashford factory gates.
Jax was taken aback by the sheer size of it. “This place is fucking enormous! What do they even make here?”
“All sorts of things!” A chipper female voice rang out.
If Ricky’s legs worked he would have stumbled back as the source of the voice came rolling up from behind him.
“Is that… a robot?” asked Jax.
It looked like something you’d see in an episode of Star Trek. It was this sort of smooth egg-shaped robot thing on wheels.
“Greetings, esteemed guest! Welcome to Ashford Robotics! Please follow me.” It said.
“Well, that’s not something you see everyday,” said Jax.
“I think it’s pretty cool! I had no idea that they had r-r-robots working here,” said Ricky.
The robot’s dome-shaped head turned to face the gate. It made a beeping sound and the gate made a similar sound back. Then it opened. The two young men were just about to follow the robot inside before it stopped them.
“I’m afraid only Ricardo Garcia may enter.”
“Why can’t I stay with him?” Jax asked, a bit annoyed.
“I’m afraid only Ricardo Garcia is qualified to access the building,” the robot responded.
“Uhg, fine. I’ll see you back at home, babe.” Jax bent down to Ricky’s level and kissed him.
The robot spoke again. “No pets are allowed inside.”
Ricky looked down at Pepper sitting on his lap. “But sh-she’s my service dog. She needs to be with me.”
The robot took a few seconds to respond, as if it was processing what he said.
“I’m sorry, I cannot seem to find any protocol in my system concerning service animals.”
Jax sighed. “Can’t you ask your boss or something?”
The robot took another moment to process.
“My superior will be with you shortly.”
After waiting for about five minutes Ricky began to get restless.
“M-M-Maybe you should take Pepper home with you? I don’t want there to be any issues.”
“No Ricky, you need her,” said Jax.
Not much later, a well-dressed man stepped out of the building and approached them.
The man smiled at Ricky. “Hello, my name is Andrew Ashford. I am the CEO of this company. You must be Ricardo, I take it?”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He offered his hand out for Ricky to shake when Pepper did something unexpected. She growled.
“Pepper! Be nice!” Ricky scolded the dog. “I’m so s-sorry sir. She’s n-never like this.”
Andrew’s smile disappeared. “Oh er, that’s not a service animal is it?”
“Yes, it is,” said Jax.
Andrew turned to Jax. “Wait, you are you? Mr. Garcia put in his application that he had no living family members!”
Ricky was quick to correct him. “Oh n-no sir, this is my b-. My roommate.”
“Oh… I apologize for the misunderstanding,” said Andrew.
“There isn’t anything wrong with me bringing Pepper inside is there?” asked Ricky.
Andrew looked down at Pepper. Her body was tense and she wouldn’t take her eyes off him.
“I er… I suppose I should have expected that you might have a service dog with you after reading your application. You may bring her inside. We’ll just have to figure something out when you have the prosthetics fitted to you.”
“Why can’t she be with me?”
“I’m afraid it’s not as simple as just strapping on a robotic limb. I’ll answer any questions you have inside. Now, please come with me.”
Ricky turned to Jax and waved goodbye before following Andrew inside.
The factory looked even bigger on the inside. Ricky marveled at all the complex machinery working together in perfect harmony to create things. Pepper however, did not seem as pleased. She was acting much more restless than she usually was. Normally, she was a very calm dog. This change in behavior began to make Ricky a bit tense as well.
Andrew led him to his office and sat him down.
“I apologize for my robot assistant making you wait so long. I’m still trying to work out it’s kinks,” said Andrew.
“I think it’s actually really cool! I’ve n-n-n…I’ve never seen anything like that before!” Ricky replied with enthusiasm.
“Machines like that may be impressive to the average person, but when you really start to work with them you realize how frustrating they can be. They aren’t capable of developing the same logic and reasoning skills that we can on our own. You need to program them. People like me, we’ve spent decades trying to create the perfect artificial intelligence that is comparable to the complexity of a human’s brain.”
“Uh-huh,” Ricky said, smiling and pretending he understood any of that.
“So, tell me about yourself Mr. Garcia. What made you want to apply for our high tech prosthetics program?”
“Well…you read w-w-what happened to me on my application, yea?”
“Yes, and I am terribly sorry about that. It must have been very traumatizing for you.”
Ricky began to run his hand through Pepper’s fur. “I was r-r-really sick as a kid. Having HIV made my cancer so much harder to recover from. Could barely do anything. When I beat cancer and reached middle school, I was finally able to live. It was still difficult living w-w-with…with my dad…but my best friend, Jax, the guy I was with earlier, when I met him in 8th grade he helped me a lot. He taught me how to s-skateboard and we’d hang out every day. In high school we’d sneak out at night all the time. Once, he even drove me to an MCR concert when we were 15. H-He didn’t even have a learner’s permit yet, hahah!”
“I’m assuming a lot of that changed after…well, the incident.”
Pepper looked up at Ricky, as if sensing his pain.
“I w-w-…I w-was the only one who survived. I lost everything that day.” He could feel tears start to well up in the corners of his eyes. “Jax helped me adjust afterwards but…n-nothing’s been the same since. I’ve tried so hard to be happy, but…god I just-. I’m s-sorry, can we stop talking about this?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
Andrew offered him a tissue to wipe his eyes. Pepper silently bared her teeth at him as he got closer to Ricky.
“I can see you’ve had a difficult life Mr. Garcia. But hopefully we here at Ashford robotics can help you with that.”
Andrew pulled out a box from under his desk and placed it in front of Ricky.
“This will only be a small demonstration of what we can do for you.”
He unpacked the box and pulled out a prosthetic arm. Ricky was not at all expecting how fancy and expensive-looking it would be. It looked like it was made of high-end metal and complex joints.
“Whoa! That looks like a movie prop!”
“Oh, I can assure you it is very real. You will be able to move it just as naturally as you would a real arm. And, if all goes correctly, you’ll be able to feel with it, too.”
“I can f-feel with it?!” Ricky asked in disbelief. “Are you sure this is free?”
“As our first human test subject, you won’t have to pay a dime, I assure you.”
“Can I see it?”
“Certainly.”
Andrew placed the arm in front of Rickey. He gazed at it in awe. When he picked it up it flopped over at the joints as if it were a real, limp arm.
“This thing is so cool! I think I’m gonna paint mine though. M-Maybe with like, skulls and flames and stuff. I think that would look pretty badass!”
“And this won’t be all! You’ll also be testing state-of-the-art high tech leg braces, designed to allow you to walk again.”
“That’s amazing! When can I put them on?”
“Oh, well, you see, it needs to be connected directly to your nervous system. You need to be put under for the procedure or else it will be very painful, I’m afraid”.
“Oh, I think I watched an anime like that once.” Ricky stopped to think for a while. “So, uh, sh-shouldn’t I be at a hospital or something to get it done?”
“We have the proper medical facilities here.”
“That’s…interesting. Uh, what about my dog?”
“No need to worry, we will take care of everything. She’ll likely be put with the employee’s service dogs.”
“Do I…r-really need to be under anesthesia for this?”
“Not having second thoughts, are you?”
“No sir! I’m just not a big fan of surgeries. I mean, last time I had one I w-woke up not being able to feel my legs, heh.”
“This won’t take long. We’re just putting you to sleep for your own comfort.”
“To tell you the truth, I’m a bit anxious. But I’m willing to do anything to get my life back. Besides, I’ve gone through much worse.”
“Great! We can begin right away then.”
“W-Wait, now?! We’re doing it right now?”
“Yes.”
“Like…NOW now?”
“Is there an issue with that?”
“I just thought I’d get some time to m-mentally prepare, I guess.”
“We are on a bit of a tight schedule. Don’t worry, Mr. Garcia, you’ll be just fine.”
Two men in white lab coats came in. They said nothing, but their presence made Ricky uneasy. It was something about the way they looked down at him in his chair. He felt small.
“Please follow them,” said Andrew.
Ricky almost felt afraid to leave Andrew and go with these new people, but he brushed it off as his past trauma making him irrational. However, Pepper still seemed tense which didn’t at all help Ricky feel at ease.
He was taken through the factory to an elevator. One of his escorts took out a key and unlocked a small compartment on the button panel. Inside it was another button.
“Oh cool, is that a s-secret floor or something?”
They didn’t answer.
“Okaaaay then…”
The floor they arrived at didn’t even look like it was a part of the same building. There were no big factory machines and it looked sterile and futuristic. There were also a few more of those robots roaming around. It was like he stepped onto the set of a sci-fi movie. Ricky would have been geeking out over it, but he just couldn’t help but feel like something was off. Again, he brushed it off as it simply being his anxiety acting up.
One of the mysterious men looked down at Pepper. “Sir, your dog.”
“You’re taking her now?”
“Please do not worry Mr. Garcia. It will be well taken care of.”
Without even asking, one of the men took Pepper’s leash and walked off with her. She tried to pull away and kept looking back at Ricky. She was taken into a room and he could hear her barking for him from the other side of the door. Ricky suddenly felt very vulnerable without the dog.
Suddenly, three more men showed up. They surrounded him on all sides. He felt like he was about to get arrested or something.
“Please come with us, Mr. Garcia.”
Ricky’s stomach dropped. Something in the back of his mind was telling him, “Something isn’t right. Get out.” But he was too far in to quit now.
“I’m going to get my life back,” he reassured himself.
The men in lab coats ushered Ricky down a hallway and into a room. The inside of it looked like a surgical theater from a sci-fi horror game. The room was large, yet eerily empty. There was an operating table right at the center with a folded hospital gown set on top of it.
The voice in the back of his head grew louder: “Something is wrong here. Get out.”
Ricky continued to ignore it.
“You’ll have to get undressed and change into your gown,” one of the men said.
“S-Sure.”
Ricky waited for the men to leave. They didn’t. After a few seconds of awkward silence, one of them spoke up.
“Do you need assistance?”
“Oh no, I just thought I’d get some-H-HEY!”
Before he could properly react, two of the men lifted him up out of his chair and placed him on the bed. One of the men pulled his shirt right off and he was so taken aback by what was happening that he didn’t know how to react at first. One then attempted to remove his pants, but Ricky quickly scooted away from the man before he could. The man just stared at him with a cold, blank expression.
The voice in the back of his head was screaming at this point: “GET OUT. GET OUT.”
Ricky almost wanted to listen to it, but he couldn’t. All the men were surrounding him and he couldn’t get to his wheelchair from the position he was in. He felt so small. He slipped the gown on and took off the rest of his clothes from underneath in an attempt to have at least some privacy. He could feel a cold sweat start to run down his spine as he felt the men’s eyes pierce through him like daggers.
The moment he was done undressing, he was again caught off-guard when he was grabbed by the legs and made to lay down on the operating table. He could feel the blood drain from his face in fear and he let out a scream.
“We ask that you please cooperate, Mr. Garcia”.
Ricky couldn’t take it anymore.
“I-I-I’m having second thoughts…” he muttered.
Suddenly, he heard Andrew’s voice from behind him. “Oh, but Ricardo, you’re so close! You can’t quit now! Just think, pretty soon you’ll drift off to sleep, and then the next thing you know, your body will be entirely restored!”
“M-Maybe I can come back another day?”
“Ricardo, you’re already here. Might as well get it over with now.”
A loud noise started to blare above Ricky’s head. Then, the ceiling opened up and out came a large machine with several robotic arms. Some of them had his new prosthetics attached, others had surgical devices attached. Ricky began to hyperventilate.
He felt Andrew’s hand stroking his cheek. He spoke to him in a soft, yet chilling voice: “It’s alright, Ricardo. Just close your eyes.”
Ricky felt a small, sharp pain enter the side of his neck before he blacked out.
_______________________________________
LOG: 1
DATE: October 15th, 2006
Finally, after twenty years, we’ve performed our first successful human experiment after 30 failed attempts. I was almost beginning to think we wouldn’t get past animal trails. The next step in human evolution is nearly upon us. However, we cannot celebrate just yet. Although he did survive the 18 hour operation, our subject still must remain in a medically-induced coma for two more weeks. We do not know yet how well his brain can control his new body, or how well his improved senses work.
Currently, his vitals are stable. We did have a bit of a scare on the operating table while transferring the lungs, but it thankfully hasn’t seemed to cause any lasting damage to the original organic parts of his body. Whatever remained of his original body will be incinerated after tissue samples are collected, with the exception of the eyes. I have no practical use for the eyes. They simply make for a lovely memento to place on my desk.
I still plan to one day have this operation done on myself, but first we need to monitor our subject for any errors. I suspect there will be a few. This is, after all, the first time something like this has ever been achieved in the history of mankind. There are bound to be a few errors. One day, I will become the perfect machine; but I must stay patient.
Signed- Andrew Ashford
________________________________________
LOG: 2
DATE: October 30th 2006
Damn it all! We’re already having issues. When my machine awoke from his slumber, rather than be grateful for the gift I have given him, he screamed. And just kept screaming. He also could have killed someone with how much he was thrashing about. Luckily, he hasn’t learned to walk in his new body yet, which made restraining him much less dangerous than it could have been. I was planning to teach him how to walk after he first woke up, but it looks like we’re going to have to deal with some behavioral issues first. I was able to use the rod to shock him into submission within an hour. He’s still difficult to work with, but he now knows that the screaming will not be tolerated. Unfortunately, however, this discipline revealed our first problem. His body is designed to go at least three weeks without the need to consume fuel. But the rod’s shocks exhausted him nearly to the point where his battery drained. This shows that his energy depletes far more rapidly than what was intended.
I needed to teach him how to eat much sooner than I had thought I would, so that his energy levels wouldn’t get too low. He can no longer eat like a lesser human since he requires far more calories in order to keep his new body alive. He made things difficult at first. He panicked when he saw his abdomen open to receive the nutrient blocks we had prepared for him. And he actually began to cry at the sight of the tendrils and machinery within his exposed stomach. I quickly put an end to his fussing so he would pay attention. I will admit, the design of his new “mouth” looks imposing. But this subject is far too old to be shedding tears over it. I really wasn’t expecting him to be so difficult to work with.
And if that wasn’t enough of an annoyance, his irritating friend will not stop coming up to the front gate and demanding to know what happened. Security has had to explain to him multiple times that he backed out of the operation and left. He won’t buy it, but luckily the authorities did.
On the bright side of things, at least we know that my machine can control his body properly. He only needs some time to adjust.
Signed- Andrew Ashford
_________________________________________
LOG: 3
DATE: November 3rd 2006
He will not stop asking about the damn dog. I don’t even know if it’s still alive! I sent it to the animal testing lab and then forgot about it. We’re also facing more issues. His enhanced senses are in working order, but they’re a bit too sensitive. Bright lights and loud noises appear to cause him pain. He also won’t stop complaining about how much his joints hurt. It’s irritating, but it is something that we need to take note of. Once I become the perfect machine, I would like to be comfortable in my new body.
The pain is hindering his progress and he’s taking longer to relearn how to walk. I am sure we’ll get there eventually, I just need to push him a bit harder.
Signed- Andrew Ashford
_________________________________________
LOG: 4
DATE: November 7th 2006
Subject’s pain has not improved much, but he has been becoming more mobile. However, he does not yet have very good control over his own strength. He’s broken several walking aids and it’s becoming an issue. They’re all custom made due to his new height being much taller than average and they are not cheap. He is far stronger now than any normal man, and I will have to help him adjust so that he doesn’t go around breaking everything that he touches.
He still cries very often, and is always scared. I don't understand him. His body is beautiful, elegant, and near perfection. But instead of appreciating what I’ve done for him, he weeps. Pathetic. Once I have my new body I will not weep. I will rejoice.
Signed- Andrew Ashford
________________________________________
LOG: 5
DATE: November 11th 2006
We had an incident today. I am beginning to wonder if helping him adjust to his body so early was a mistake. He’s already taking advantage of his strength and abusing it. This morning I was called in at 4am to deal with him. He had grabbed one of the maintenance workers and threatened to kill her if we didn’t let him leave. He could have easily done it, and I wouldn’t have cared if he did. It wouldn’t have been the first employee death we’ve had to cover up and it won’t be the last. He didn’t, though. He let his emotions get the better of him and he let her go, not being able to find it in himself to kill. He collapsed to the ground in a pathetic sobbing mess. It was honestly embarrassing to watch. Then, he attempted to rip off his own head. His body is programmed not to inflict damage upon itself, so of course it didn’t work.
This boy angers me. I gave him eyes sharper than a hawk’s, ears that can hear the footsteps of a rabbit, and a body as strong as 30 men and as fast as a stallion. Why can’t he appreciate what he has? Why can’t he just be grateful? I will make him be grateful.
Signed- Andrew Ashford
_________________________________________
LOG: 6
DATE: November 20th 2006
It’s been several days since my last log entry. I haven’t had time to update due to another incident. He is still being punished as I type this. I can hear the screaming and stuttering pleas for mercy all the way from my office, but he will have no sympathy from me. He needs to learn his lesson.
This incident was a bad one. A VERY bad one. He broke out of his containment cell and attempted to escape through the ventilation system. We had to border off all vents to try and keep him from making it outside. This made the factory upstairs unfit to work in, so we had to shut down until we got him out. So, not only did he escape, but he also cost me money!
Attempting to capture him was too dangerous, so our very first priority was to keep him from getting out long enough for his power to run low enough to be able to grab him and drag him out without much of a struggle. This however… proved to be a mistake. For we found yet another issue with my machine. His body is programmed to go into “survival mode” when his power is dangerously low so that he won’t die. He loses control of it as it searches for the nearest source of calories to consume. But there was a grave error on my part. I neglected to specify which sources the body should recognize as food and which it shouldn’t. Because of this, it recognizes ANYTHING organic as food. We discovered that the hard way. Once we knew for certain that my machine was weak enough to retrieve, I sent a team of 5 people in to get him.
Now, I may be easily startled, but the screams for help echoing through the walls nearly made me jump out of my own skin. We couldn’t do anything to help them. I knew whatever was going on, it was too risky to send in more people. It didn’t take too long for the noise to stop, and then about an hour later only two out of the 5 people I sent in came back out, one of them with a leg missing. Despite this, they somehow managed to actually get my machine back. He was unconscious. Apparently he had fainted, possibly due to the traumatic event. I may not have seen what happened while it was happening, but I was able to clearly see the aftermath. My machine, as well as the vents, were drenched in it.
In an attempt to prevent him from constantly crying about it, I tried to convince him that the event was all a hallucination and that he was just delirious from being so low on energy. I also told my entire staff to not even mention what happened.
As much sadness as the thought of it brings me, he may have to be destroyed. This error is extremely dangerous and I don’t know if it’s worth the risk to keep alive. But at least now we know better for our next subject.
Signed- Andrew Ashford
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My therapist said this writing would help. I don’t know what else to do, so here goes nothing.
Ricky, I know you can’t read this, but wherever you are, I pray to fucking god you’re safe. The police have already given up looking for you, but I haven’t. I’ll never stop looking. I love you so fucking much, I’ll do anything to get you back. Everything feels so empty without you and Pepper here. I’ve never felt so alone in my life. Whoever took you… If they hurt you in any way, I’ll kill them! I’ll fucking kill them! I don’t care if I get thrown in prison for the rest of my life! You’ve already suffered so much, you deserve to be happy and safe. God, I wouldn’t even be alive right now if it weren’t for you! Ricky, you’re the best goddamn person I know.
I know you hate when I do this, but I’ve been looking through your sketchbook. It’s really the only thing that brings me peace anymore. The unfinished sketches trick my brain into half-believing that you’re still here and you’ll be back any moment to finish them.
Please, for the love of god, be safe.
I love you.
* Jax
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LOG 7:
DATE: November 23rd 2006
I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t do it. There he was, my beautiful, elegant machine laying on the table. I was admiring my creation one last time before he was to be dismantled. It wasn’t the struggling and pleading that caused the change of heart, but the pride I had in my work. I couldn’t just destroy such a magnificent body. I will keep him.
Signed- Andrew Ashford
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LOG 8:
DATE: November 30th 2006
The majority of the staff are now too scared to go near him. It’s ridiculous. I’ve even made it very easy for them by installing a big light on his chest that indicates his energy level. White means safe, flashing means he needs to eat soon, and red means stay away. It’s so simple, yet they’re still overly fearful around him even when the light is white. I’m going to start docking paychecks if this starts getting in the way of our work.
We do have at least one positive development this week, however. Turns out, that dog he brought with him is still in the lab. It’s a bit scrawny now, but still alive. Now, any time my machine misbehaves the dog is harmed. To prove I wasn’t bluffing, I cut off it’s tail right in front of him. Ever since then, he’s been very well behaved. I might even start rewarding him by letting him spend time with the dog for a few minutes a day. Until he starts acting up again that is. When that happens, it’s the ears next.
I’ve always hated those little yorkie dogs. They’re so yappy.
Signed- Andrew Ashford.
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LOG: 9
DATE: December 7th 2006
Aside from him often pestering me about his dog not being fed well enough, his behavior has improved immensely. He obeys me without question and doesn’t even need to be restrained anymore. He’s finally accepted that he is my creation. Perhaps I shall reward him by allowing more time with the dog.
Signed- Andrew Ashford
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It took a lot of patience, pain, and nights crying alone in his cell, but he finally earned enough of Andrew’s trust to get him to let his guard down for a moment. And that’s all he needed. One moment.
Andrew made the mistake of leaving Ricky alone with Pepper. As soon as he was out of sight, he made a break for it. The adrenaline rush seemed to make him even stronger than he already was, and he was able to run through any wall or person that got in his way. The hardest part was getting upstairs. He couldn't ride the elevator, so he climbed up it’s shaft. The whole time he was clinging onto Pepper for dear life.
The upper floor was easier. Every one of the factory workers who saw him ran. After that it was fuzzy. Next thing he knew he was running outside in the pouring rain as fast as he could. Each step he took was agonizing, but he kept on going.
His attempts to get help only resulted in people screaming and running from him. The screams hurt his ears too much to bear, so he eventually gave up. He couldn’t blame them, though. All they saw was a giant mechanical monster, not someone who desperately needed their help. He didn’t want to go to a police station because he was afraid they’d just try to shoot him on sight, so he tried to remember his way back home. More than anything, he just wanted to be back in Jax’s arms.
He could feel each cold droplet of rain hit his sensitive metal skin, feeling like he was bitten by thousands of tiny ants. Everything hurt. Pepper wasn’t doing much better either. Her little body was trembling harder than Ricky had ever seen it. And she was practically skin and bone. Ricky held the dog close to his chest and tried his best to comfort her.
As night drew closer he became more and more exhausted and he could no longer stand the feeling of the rain. He eventually took cover under the trees in some nearby woods to wait out the storm. It was freezing and the only source of warmth around was Pepper.
“I’ve got you.” he said to her softly as they both shivered in the cold.
Ricky was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep. All he could do was sit down and rest his aching joints for a while. He wrapped himself around Pepper as she lay on his lap. He needed to keep her warm since she was very weak in her current state. He was so focused on keeping her alive, that he didn’t notice the color of the light on his chest change.
Crunch.
“P-PEPPER!”
Yelps of agony pierced his ears as he tried in vain to pry his stomach open. He could feel the vibrations of his gears grinding and crushing.
“PEPPER! PEPPER! I-I-I’VE GOT YOU HOLD ON!”
She went quiet not before long. Then, shortly after, he felt the grinding stop. His light changed from red to flashing white. He tore open his stomach’s hatch without hesitation and pulled out whatever he could. There was little more than fur, ligaments, and shards of bone left behind. His trembling hands tried to untangle them from his insides and piece them back together. He felt like he needed to vomit, but because he no longer had a human digestive system all he could do was dry heave as hot tears burned his cheeks.
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Jax had been spending countless nights staying up and waiting for the phone to ring. He wasn’t really sure who he wanted to hear on the other end. Perhaps the police calling to say they found something, or maybe even Ricky himself. Either way, he just wanted something. Anything.
His eyes were growing increasingly heavy as the allure of sleep drew him in. That was until a loud crash coming from inside the apartment shook him back awake.
“What the fuck was that!?”
He looked towards the door, which was now in pieces on the ground. He was blinded by a bright red light. Jax’s first instinct was to throw any object he had nearby at the intruder. The phone, his skateboard, a lamp, anything he could. But nothing seemed to keep it from approaching him.
“GET OUT! GET OUT!” He screamed.
Then, he heard a very familiar voice.
“J-Jax…”
Jax froze.
“J-JAX! RUN!”
“Ricky?”
“I can’t control myself! R-RUN!”
“RICKY!”
Jax looked up at the towering man before him in disbelief.
“HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT!!!”
He jumped over to him.
“JAX NO! S-S-STAY BACK!”
“Oh my god! Baby, what did that do you?!”
“J-JAX! G-G-GET- GET OUT!”
“It’s okay! I’ve got you! You’re safe now, Ricky!”
Jax embraced him.
“N-N-N-NO! I CAN’T CONTROL MY BOD-“
Crunch.
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LOG: 10
DATE: December 15th 2006
He came back. I knew he would inevitably realize that there is no place for him out there anymore. The factory building is now his one true home.
It was this morning when security found him at the front gate. He didn’t even fight them when he was brought inside. He also looked like an absolute wreck. Sobbing uncontrollably, covered in dried blood, and with a human limb or two jammed in his abdomen. I’m not going to punish him for this. It’s already clear that he’s learned his lesson. He knows now. He can never leave. He is my beautiful creation.
Signed- Andrew Ashford