Chapter 2: Black Trash Can
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Mana, it wasn’t a term I had expected to see. Considering all the sci-fi themed aspects of this world, it gave an odd feeling. I had been subconsciously comparing this world to some futuristic works I knew from my fragmented memory. 

 

Magic was something you would often see in works related to fantasy, it was a clash of themes when you included something of this sort to a technological world. On top of that, the panel before me made it feel more like a game, dampening the seriousness of the situation. 

 

The more I thought about it, the more I felt this world was fictitious. I sincerely started hoping this was just some fever dream but things were far too realistic for that to be the case.

 

I try to think of the words “mana” and “magic” to remember something, but the information I got was lacking. What I found was that mana just acted as a replacement for fuel and it also helped with sustaining the body, other than there was no further information about it. I just cursed my luck at how ignorant this person had been. 

 

While I was concentrating, I heard something move behind one of the hills of corpses. I wasn’t alone. Was it possibly some other person who had been mistakenly put in here? Were they hostile or friendly? Various questions started popping around my head as I keenly watched at the source of the noise. 

 

The rumbling got louder. While it was approaching here I went ahead and hid around the corpses. The pungent smell flared up my nostrils but I bore with it for the moment. A synthetic buzzing sound could be heard. Some kind of black object appeared within my vision. The thing was in the shape of a trash can on wheels, with a black metallic sheen on its body. Small dots of blue were all around what I assumed to be the front of his face.

 

It lacked any distinguishing traits, simply put, it was just a black tin can on wheels. As it got closer I could make out its size more clearly, the bot’s height reached up to my chest while the width was around the size of my waist. It was bigger than I first anticipated it to be.

 

As its buzzing sound got louder, the eyes kept shifting around like a paranoid patient fearing for his own life. I felt my back shiver looking at it, the closer it got the more I realized how fucking creepy it looked. 

 

When it came closer, I flinched a bit. Straight away the light in its eyes darted towards my direction, an ominous glow was spreading in them. I felt my back drenched with sweat. Clenching my fists, I dearly wished to every god that I knew of that it didn’t suspect anything.

 

Sadly my wishes didn’t seem to be granted, it cast a blue light similar to the likes of a projector. The light scanned around its surroundings, I felt dread as the projected light inched closer and closer. 

 

My eyes were already closed, hoping that the bot wouldn’t be able to detect me. I felt anxious with each passing second, my nerves flaring up from the distress. The light passed by me and I heaved a sigh of relief, but I had been too quick to judge.

 

The light moved back and forth near the location I was. The intense light kept flashing in my eyes. I felt scared out of my wits. The beaming light stopped casting and an odd beeping sound started ringing out.

 

I started panicking. Clumsily, I struggled to get out of the corpses surrounding me as fast as I possibly could. An erratic synthetic voice was uttered by the tin husk. “Living subject detected, surrender yourself to prevent any harm possible. Hostile behaviour would be responded with immediate elimination of the subject.”

 

I hadn’t expected it to be able to speak. Just the fact that it could made it seem more frightening. The robot said for me to surrender myself but I knew I would be confined again and continue to conduct tests on me till I had my “2nd death”.

 

I wasn’t willing to be a lab rat. I knew I had to bail out of here as fast as possible or I should lose all hopes of escaping this place.

 

I had swiftly turned around and started to sprint off in the opposing direction, but before I could take more than five steps I felt a stinging sensation behind my back. My limbs started to freeze up as a sharp pain spread throughout my body. I barely managed to catch a glimpse as to what the bot had done to me.

 

The robot had an aperture with a stick protruding out of it. It seemed to have shot what I could assume to be a taser. I had been paralyzed by the shitty trash can. A feeling of impending doom wells up within me.

 

I was about to be put in that dastardly place again, to relive the sad life this kid had suffered. For the remainder of my lifespan, I would be forced to try out various bionics, possibly losing even the remaining limbs which I had. It was a grim and dark future which awaited me, one where suicide might be a more favoured choice.

 

Regardless of what my thoughts were, the black bot carried out his programmed instructions. It wouldn’t understand the despair I was feeling at this time nor would it care even if he were to know about it. It teetered closer and closer to pick me up, to make me a captive of a damning fate.

 

I didn’t want to go back there, I didn’t want to be tested on again. Though I had never experienced the torture which this body went through, the memories itself had been sickening enough for me. 

 

I tried to move but my body wouldn’t budge. Inside my mind, I was screaming at my damn limbs to move. If I didn’t move right now I was about to become a lamb for slaughter.

 

The bot slowly picked me up. The feeling of the cold metallic clasps which held onto my body gave me a sense of hopelessness. It dragged my body like a rag doll, not bothering about my wellbeing at all. 

 

As it dragged my body from my legs, I could feel the skin grating against the cold hard concrete floor. Small signs of bleeding appeared on the ground from my right arm, while my left arm started to leave trails of sparks behind it.

 

Slowly the gnawing pain started attacking my right arm. It was the pain from being dragged around, but what was of more significance that it meant that paralysis was starting to wear off. I wasn’t sure if it was outside the robot’s calculations, but I was glad it had made such a huge oversight on how long the paralysis lasted.

 

Soon enough I could feel my fingers twitch a little. Seeing that filled me with hope. I needed to prepare myself for the opportune moment now as the paralysis gradually subsided. Though the burning pain grew, I had to stay composed in such a dire moment.

 

 

I could use my arms again. The robot had been leading us for a while, the area was a lot bigger than I first anticipated it to be. My arm was a bloody mess at this point, the skin was left with various small cuts on it.

 

It was about time to strike now. I held onto a passing bionic leg which managed to easily detach itself. The robot hadn’t noticed a thing as it kept moving ahead. I tensed my muscles with all vigour I had remaining.

 

With a sudden jolt, I twisted my body, swinging it right behind me. All the force was focused on the heel of the bionic leg. A resounding thud could be heard as the leg made an impact. The robot staggered from the strike, allowing me to quickly get out of its clasp. 

 

I stood up and aimed with the leg again. With even more force this time, I struck it towards the unbalanced robot. The robot flops over onto the ground. Raising the leg I started doing overhead swings repeatedly. Each hit formed a big dent onto its black body, deforming the cylindrical shape.

 

“Fucking shit trash can!” I shout as I continued to smack it. The light whizzed out but there was no end to my rage, my fear had turned into overwhelming anger.

 

“Die, die, die. You piece of shit!” It was an emotional catharsis for me. The pent up stress I had been feeling after I had been forced into an unreasonable situation, was now being let out.

 

Despite how noisy I had been, nothing else seemed to have been attracted towards here. In hindsight, it had been a rash decision to shout like that, but the heat of the moment had taken over my mind. 

 

The black robot was now in absolute shambles. It had turned into a heap of scrap metal. As I looked back to my faults I noticed a blue flashing screen in the corner of my eye. I took a closer glance, which led to the panel becoming more prominent in my field of view.

 

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You have reached Stage 1

Please assign your free stat points.

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“Fuck me, this really is like a game.”

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