Disposal Unit

Blood pools around me as I lay dying on the ground. I can’t move my body. I’m coughing, an agonizing pain pushes into my chest. Blood oozes out of my mouth, out of my eyes, out of my ears. I feel the footsteps of others run by my body. The ground shakes. I only have enough energy to reach down and feel that my legs are gone. The lower half of my body is cut off. My vision gets blurry and everything fades to black.

Disposal Unit, Chapter 1

Extraction

A voice speaks to me, distorted at first, and it repeats itself. I try to focus on it but can’t see anything. It’s still black. The smell of disinfectant saturates the air and I focus on my hearing.

“Doug, Doug, are you in there?”

“Hmm I know that name.”

I try to move my head, nothing. I try to move my fingers and realize, I can’t even feel my arms or my legs. I hum, “Okay, I have lungs”.

“Doug, move your head if you can hear me.”

I focus and nod. I feel the slight sensation of acceleration through my head. “Good.”

“I’m going to extract you now”

The world around me erupts into color and I feel heat rising from beneath me.

Within seconds I lose all feelings for my body and I drift in darkness. I feel my consciousness being torn apart and put back together. My mind splits and spreads thin into dust. Heat and moisture cling to my thoughts and pull them apart. I lose my sense of self as I fall like rain, disconnected but in the same direction. I am not Doug anymore. There is no Doug. I am everyone. Then a force pulls every little part of me back together. Scattered pieces rush back and form a body. For a second I am whole again.

A hand grabs my floating body and rips it out of space and time. The blazing heat surrounds me. My eyes finally open and I see a sea of blood. Shadows swim back and forth under the surface. The only light comes from flames that cover the sky. The hand closes tighter around my body and my bones break. I vomit blood and gore. My lungs squeeze through my mouth and I pop like a squished cherry.

I come to in the same hellscape again.

It smells of decay and iron. Hanging upside down from the same hand, I see bubbles in the blood beneath me. Four more hands rise out of the liquid and grab each of my limbs and my head.

I scream and get ripped into pieces by the hands.

Darkness again.

Then a voice from the depth, “two deaths you owe us.”

My body floats up towards the flaming clouds. The heat is unbearable and bright light blinds me.

Then silence.

I throw up on the ground in front of me. It’s clear liquid that tastes like bile.

I open my eyes and inhale. It’s the same disinfectant smell. Everything is blurry, but I can feel my arms and legs again. I’m tied to an upright wheel, much like the Vitruvian Man. This shit again. I can barely move. A figure walks into the room. White coat, tall.

I grunt, “hmph, who are you…?”

“Ah, I’m glad you’re awake. I am Dr. Cull, your rendering specialist. We have some great news for you and a lot of tests to run. We managed to recommission a recently processed elite unit just as your previous body was dismantled.”

He walks around the room staring at his clipboard, flipping from page to page.

“Yes, very good…”

With a flashlight he checks my eyes. I still can’t see shit, but the light stings in my eyes.

“What tests?” I ask.

He finishes his notes before answering.

“It’s the same initial procedure as last time, but the secondary tests will be more aimed at elite athleticism.”

Oh fuck! Last time was pure torture.

My vision gets clearer and I can make out minor details. The room is mostly empty, but huge. There are two tables to my right with some instruments on them, a microscope and a few stainless steel tools. The light is bright white, with white walls, ceiling and the floor tiles. Not only does the air in this room smell like pure ethanol, but it looks just as sterile. I hate hospitals.

Dr. Cull checks my blood under a microscope and keeps taking notes. This first part is so boring I want to go back to sleep. It’s interesting that this time I am in no pain at all. I move my toes and my fingers into fists. No fatigue at all.

“Say, is this unit new?”

Dr. Cull answers without looking up, “We ensured that all wounds are healed before the transfer. The subject did indeed take good care of this unit.”

I relax a bit, knowing I will soon operate this elite body. It feels strong, almost strong enough to tear this wheel into pieces. The contraption creaks and I relax my biceps.

Dr. Cull ran many tests on my body and stayed silent for most of it.

“Is everything in order?”

“It seems that..”

With a loud BANG the door opens and Klaus walks in. His presence is formidable, he has to duck to get through the door. A dark blue skinsuit covers every part except his eyes. His muscular body shakes the ground with every step as he gets closer. Dr. Cull gets up with anger in his eyes. With his hands out in front of him he says, “what is the meaning of this? please get out while we finish the first part of the examination.”

Klaus walks right past him. The skinny man can’t do anything but stare at the giant in disbelief. Klaus stops mere inches from my face. He looks down at the machine, steps to the side and pushes the release button. I stumble forward onto the ground and the tiles crack under my knees. Most of the needles ripped out of me on the way down, but some still remain. I breathe heavily and pull the remaining needles from my wrists and drop them on the ground. The light stinging feels more like a tickle. When I get up, Klaus has not moved. He stares at me patiently.

I get up, “What the fuck, Commander? I am not used to this body yet.”

He stares and says nothing.

“Urgent mission?” I ask.

He nods and turns to leave. I follow.

Fuck, I just got this body.