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Author’s Note: For the prompt, ‘Boots’, I felt like rewriting an old piece (Tomorrow), which was an original short story inspired by an idea I once had for a series. The boots being the metaphor that carries the main character through her pain.
Synopsis: Lucretia awakes from her coma with no memory of her accident. Outfitted with a new cyborg body, she must learn to take that first step if she hopes to find her freedom. Will Lucretia be able to escape the military facility or die fighting for a way out?275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxt6Cnthl8R
When I awoke I was greeted by the same eerie scene. The lights of Neo-Tokyo illuminated through my window, beckoning me out to the streets. Despite the distant whispers of the citizens, I knew I could never be part of their world. I'm nothing more than an empty shell of the woman I once was. I live a half life, a cursed life. A half-human, half-android monstrosity. Something the military called a clockwork soldier, created for the sole purpose of advancing the war. I know little of my life before, except from what I've deduced from my medical notes. It's said I was a pilot, once of the best in my squadron but several months ago my mech suit was gunned down by the enemy, forcing me into a sleep-induced coma while androids reconstructed my limbs.
Three years ago, my father was commissioned into the Japanese military, when a letter arrived at my family home in Utashinai. We were naïve, believing we were safe in our small village, far away from the impending war threatening Neo-Tokyo. As the only male in the family, my father was instructed to enrol despite his ripe age and his poor health, he could barely walk, let alone fight. Despite my better judgement, I took his place. Dressed in the family armour passed down from our ancestors and the letter emblazoned with the government seal in my hand. Without a word to my parents, I left no trace of me behind, except the remnants of hair I'd cut from my scalp. What was once a river of raven-black tresses that cascaded down my back was now severed into a short-choppy bob that I kept tied back into a tight bun on the top of my head.
The city took hours to reach by monorail, but it had been worth it to keep my family safe. Neo-Tokyo had been built in awe of the original except it was dominated by automatons and steam machinery. The Neo-Tokyo military base, the place I'd spend eternity inside, a grand statue of a building, disguised as a mail service station. It wouldn't have seemed so out of place, that is if the heavily armed guards at the entrance hadn't given it away. While the training programme they had all new recruits on tested every fibre of my being, they still never suspected I was a woman. That was until my graduation, but by that point that came to accept my gender knowing my abilities spoke volumes on their own. I ascended the ranks, earning my stripes as I went, destroying both foes and cities in my mech.
I hauled myself off the cot, catching sight of my reflection. I could barely identify the difference between my new form and a photograph from my graduation. I couldn't complain, it worked just as my human body if not better. During combat exercises I began to realise the true nature of the android dwelling inside my body. I was nothing more than an object built for war. Even my own thoughts weren't just mine anymore, anything I thought was automatically digitally uploaded to the government computers. And I wasn't the only one of my rank.
Just as I'd finished splashing water on my face, the clinician waltzed into my room. A perfect porcelain android followed by two armed guards. She was a less than friendly face I dreaded seeing every morning, noon and night, with her tightly pursed lips and piercing brilliant blue eyes that stared deep into my soul. You wouldn't have known she wasn't human just by looking at her, with perfect porcelain skin and piercing eyes, the only give away was her metallic skeleton-like fingers. Many soldiers in my position were driven mad by their new appearances, ripping the wires from their adamant skulls and severing the neurolink to the General. I'd thought about taking my life countless times, I'd even stopped carving the tally in the wall.
I sat back on the edge of the cot, allowing the nurse to do her work. A gruelling daily routine that I couldn't escape from. I kept silent during her ritual, keeping my eyes fixed on the guards. Today would be the day I changed my fate, for too long I'd been kept in this prison. I pulled on my combat boots, just as the nurse finished scribbling her notes.
'Where is my partner? Can I see him?' I asked, referring to my mech.
The clinician glanced at one of the guards, her lips pursed.
I turned back to the automaton, forcing a polite smile, "Just want to return to the field," I said. It wasn't a lie, strictly speaking, I desperately wanted to get back to my mechanical companion. He was all I had left in this god-forsaken prison. Inside the cockpit of the mech I felt safe and secure, no one was going to stand in my way getting back to him.
'I'll escort her down,' one of the guards said. I bottled my excitement, since it was the first time in several months I'd left my room, and followed him down the corridor. The screams of my comrades echoing through the steel chamber. Their voices sent chills down my spine, a reminder that it could've been me.
The General ordered every mech to be stored in the frozen basement of the building and despite my android core, the temperature still affected me. I walked into the vast open space dimly lit and littered with a few mechas here and there, making them seem terribly out of place. In the darkness I could barely make out the paintwork on the machines, unable to identify the suits. There was little hope I'd find my partner, I chose to leave the guard behind and venture further into the cellar alone.
Continuing through the basement with very little hope of finding my companion I noticed a small glint of colour catching my eye. Unlike most mechas with minimal paint jobs, my partner was given a full body job. Every instinct inside of me was screaming out to glint, it had to be my partner, I convinced myself. I picked up my pace, a fast brisk walk turned into a jog, then into a full sprint towards the light. My inkling paid off, standing beside the wall with cracks of light pouring down, stood my faithful companion. His crimson paintwork had faded since our last ride together, thankfully his wounds had been soldered back up, leaving the paint scratched and battered in numerous places. He'd seen better days but then again I could say the same for myself. I climbed up his structure, finding the release button on instinct and stepped inside the cockpit.
The interior hadn't changed much since that day, even my old flying jacket and helmet sat in the leather chair. I pulled my jacket and took my place at his helm, running my hands over the dashboard. Not a single button out of place. At my touch, Musho's engine purred and I grinned. This is what I'd been waiting for. I settled myself in the cockpit, feeling more at home than I'd done in the last few months.
'It's you and me against the world now Mushu,' I said with a smile. There was little juice in his tank, but it'd allow a smooth escape. The ceiling called to us like a beacon, and together, we moved as a single entity, climbing through the open ceiling and onto our freedom.275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYDuDmTajg
