Cyborg
Darkness, that's all I remember... my past is just a black pit within my mind. I try to remember, and sometimes I feel that I'm close, but then this thing in my head sends a damn high pitched shriek through me.
I know I haven't been here all my life, but it sure seems like it, yet this small brick cell that they call my room is still not my sanctuary -or heaven, whatever you want to call it.
I feel so lost here as well as not human... they say I still am, tell me because I have a name and a heart beat I'll forever be one... but even the name they say is mine doesn't seem right.
They keep calling me Nick, but they write a number after it on their papers. Nick 004. Don't people have last names?
When I sit alone in 'my room', I try and listen to my heart, but I can't tell... is it real?
I hear them. Their voices are low as they talk amongst themselves just outside my cell. They speak of me, that I'm silent and harmless. That I keep still and to myself.
Harmless... Pah, they don't know me.
The voices hush before they send in a boy. He pauses at the entrance to my dark cell, the door closing behind him.
He's blind in the darkness. I watch him look about like a lost pup as he reaches for the light switch. Miss... Miss... There we go. The small bulb gives off little light in the dusty cell.
Is it the light or the presence that makes the room brighter?
He's shaking. Scared. The clipboard in his hands is held tightly to his chest. He looks at me, his cheeks turning pink. Poor lad.
He gives me his name. I do not reply. He says he has some questions. I don't reply. He shuffles his feet, bringing up dust off the cold floor, before coming a little closer...
I can't help the small smirk that comes to my lips. That's right, come closer.
He pauses just out of my reach before repeating himself, thinking I just can't hear him.
He stays there, keeping that small distance between him and me. Damn boy. He starts with his questions, which I do not answer. He repeats the same ones over and over, giving a long pause.
He just doesn't give up. Come closer, boy.
My frustration must've escaped me, for he pauses in the middle of one of his questions. He steps away from me, being smart.
Another smart move on the boys part. He leaves. The door is shut.
I can hear them again. Outside my cell, in the hall I haven't seen for countless months, their harsh voices fade.
The bulb hums, it's light not brightening the cold cell. The kicked up dust slowly starts it's fall, returning to its settlement on the ground.
Here I am again, alone. And this is how I'll remain. I'll wait, silent, harmless... until a boy comes in here, their clipboard tight against them as they take just one step to close. A harmless being I will no longer be.
The bulb in the middle of the room flickers. With a spark it gives in to death, the room falling dim and silent once more.
I strain to hear my heart and ask myself the same question again... is it real?