Dominic "Dom" Irving & Evan Kyong - Awake the Sleeping Giant
(Palpitations in this heat, it’s dehydration. And electrolyte loss.) Evan raced back to the pool, wiping sweat off his brow as he ran. (We could’ve exchanged some more body fluid, but what she needs now is a sports drink.) He wouldn’t be gone for too long, so she shouldn’t think too ill of him leaving her like that. He was sweating profusely himself, out of anxiety for her well-being – not fatigue. Spending time with Ginny was tiring, but in a good way.
When he reached the pool, the lunch table wasn’t there anymore. He ran back to the tree. When he reached the tree, Ginny wasn’t there anymore. He ran for the nurse’s office. When he reached the nurse’s office, the nurse wasn’t there anymore. He ran to Valiant Hall. Nobody was there. He ran back to the pool, then to the tree, then to the nurse’s office again (she seemed to like taking breaks), and back once again to the tree.
“Damn it!” Evan kicked the tree in anger. He almost punched it, until he realized his hand was swollen no longer. He decided to make the most of it and punched the tree anyways. It didn’t swell this time. (If she’s not anywhere, then where is she?) Evan sat down until his breathing returned to normal. (There’s not much that you can do about it now, if you don’t know where or how she is …)
Evan relented and began to wander aimlessly. He found himself on a pathway, one that curved off into the distance. It was a hot day. He could feel the heat radiating from the black tarmac beneath him. The sun beat at him from above. The path seemed to go ever on and on, and Evan wasn’t sure if he would be back in time for the next class. Not that it mattered to him, as he had the feeling there wouldn’t be much penalty if he didn’t show up. Everything felt so carefree here, and Evan felt free. While he was free to do as he wished in the big wide world, still he was chained by the hunger of survival and the thirst to return home. Now, there was nothing driving him, no real force or call to action. He didn’t fully understand his new-found freedom, but he liked it.
Just then, he noticed a lump on the road. It was moving, as if it was breathing – rhythmically too! It was an odd sight, but familiar. He walked closer and the lump turned out to be Dom.
“Master Irving, do you know what time it is?” No response. Evan was about to kick him in the leg, but had second thoughts and drove his foot into his side instead. “Come on, big boy…” Another kick. “Get –” Another one. “– up!”
"Ughhh.. Bloody hell?" A groggy Dominic awoke to find a foot coming towards his side. Using the reflects that he learned playing baseball, he grabbed the incoming limb. The misfunctioning boy looked up at his attacker and was surprised to see a familiar. "Evan? Why the hell are you kicking me?"
"Why the hell not?" Evan baited Dom with his leg, just to have him thrash around with great effort. The sight was really quite pathetic and comedic at the same time. Evan bent over in laughter, clutching at his sides. "I think what you need is a reboot. Which of your buttons do I have to press?" He let himself lose his balance and he fell onto Dom, winding him. "Control, alt, delete? Press B? Up, up, down, down, hahaha..."
Dom's face turned into a dark shade, filled with anger. With the one arm that was still functional he grabbed Evan by the collar and pulled him in close. "You listen here... I'm not the type of guy who likes to go 'round starting beef with someone I just met. He pulls the Asian boy in closer. "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." The disabled cyborg's voice was filled with anger and mockery.
"You keep talking like that, and I'll turn your voicebox into Autotune." Evan's face froze for a second, then burst out in laughter. He sniggled awkwardly for what seemed to be too long a moment. "Okay, okay, how may I help you?"
Ahhh... Just screwing with me, huh? The huge scottish man-child sat there staring at his roommate who was now snickering at him. Not sure if this guy is a friend or not... The dried blood that had spread across Dom's face was now dried up and crackled across his skin as he furrowed his brow. "I'm not really sure, mate. One second I was talking to this girl, and then the next, my prosthetics started to malfunction, and then I fell... Now i got this headache, and it's hurts like hell."
Evan's ears caught the detail loud and clear. "A girl you said? Which one?"
"Ginny... I think." His face filled with regret. "I brought up something... That I shouldn't have."
Evan pressed on. "So she's alright?"
"Yeah she's fine... I just made her feel embarassed I guess..." Dom groaned. "Aghhh... I'm being such a screw up today."
"Good." Evan made a mental note. Ginny was all right. He noticed that his last answer to Dom wasn't particularly sympathetic. "So, how do I get you up and running again?"
"I'm not really sure... That girl did some freaky sh*t and I'm pretty sure that she ran through me!" Dom realized how crazy that his last words were. "It might just be the fall though... I got banged up pretty good. It may have caused some memory loss."
(So that's her power eh? Running through people and memory loss. Funny that should be, I remember our episodes crystal clear.) A subtle smile crept onto Evan's face. (Too clear.) "Shall I drag you? Or maybe I can pick you up over my shoulders?" He looked at Dom disapprovingly.
"What's with the look, little douche." The face that had just been filled with rage, was replaced with a humorous one. "I'm not really sure... There's no way that someone your size could drag around someone like me, even without my prosthetics." Dom gave a reassuring smile. "With these heavy-ass things, I weigh over four hundred pounds."
(No ****, fatass.) "Well, I hope you read the instruction manual, because like you said, I'm not dragging you around. Maybe I'll dismantle you and pick you up one piece at a time. Seriously though, you have to be able to reset them somehow."
"To be completely honest, I didn't pay attention at all when they explained the controls of these things." He gave a small frown of regret. Dom tried to raise his legs but, to no avail. "There might be something down there that reboots everything."
"What, like on your legs or something?"
"Noooo I meant up my butt." Dom gave a his roommate a warm grin after his sarcastic jab. "Yeah, buddy try my calfs."
Evan looked down at the lifeless legs. They were smooth and shiny - even after all the wear and tear Evan saw them go through. It reminded him of a Ferrari. The pieces fit together seemlessly with remarkable engineering. It seemed impossible to imagine a crevice or a button or any way, really, for him to get under the armoured exterior. Evan knelt down and rapped his knuckles on the metal panels. Ch*nk, Ch*nk, Ch*nk. (What the f-...) Even though the metal felt solid, it made a strange hollow noise. "Are you sure it's down here?" asked Evan awkwardly.
Evan's careful inspection reminded Dom a bit of a doctor's appointment... and he hated doctor appointments. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's down there..." He shifted uncomfortably. "Let's get this over with quickly."
He wasn't sure how to feel. It was awkward, feeling up someone's legs like that - but at the same time it wasn't, as they were cold and mechanical. It really was uncanny - they were sterile pistons and gears yes, but they were connected to someone organic who looked awfully uncomfortable and more so by the minute.
Evan gave the mechanical leg a good hard slap in frustration.
"Hey! Careful with that."
"Do you even feel pain with these? And they're turned off too ..."
Evan smacked the leg harder. Suddenly a panel popped open. "Now we're getting somewhere!" Evan concentrated on the complicated machine in front of him. (Umm… If this goes here, and that goes over there… Then where does this thing go? And what about that doohickey? Aaargh! I can't make heads or tails of this!) "So what am I supposed to be looking for again?"
"Just anything that looks like it could restart my legs. Maybe a switch, maybe a button i'm not really sure."
Evan smacked the leg one more time. The panel snapped shut and a low whirring sound began to rev up. Some of the lights blinked on and the legs twitched a little. "Well, now we know how that works." He offered Dom a hand.
The mechanics in Dom's legs sent a small shock throughout his body. "I think we got it!" He took the hand extended in front of him, and stood up. "Thanks for your help."
"Oh, yeah ... of course." Evan would have helped pull him up, but he had enough trouble standing still. "We should go back. I've been late-" (Well, skipped.) "- one class and I don't want to make it worse."
Without looking back, Evan dragged his feet, at snail pace, down the long pathway back to the school.
A joint post by BlahISuck & ChiliDawgs