I felt my heart sink and he looked at me with regret “Ash wait I am sorry.” I backed up and hit the door opening it tears streamed down my face as I ran. I bumped into someone and I looked up to see a nurse not far off Connor who looked at me worried, looking down I darted away. Running to the junkyard as if it would change what happened all those days ago, running as I would have if I had been able to escape the grasp of those men. Hiding in scraps of metal I rocked myself back and forth, trying to the let the memories drift away but they nailed themselves to my head and replayed over and over again. I looked at my phone to see Connor’s name with tons of messages I set my phone aside. I went to a car and laid back the seat and laid there looking through a hole in the ceiling of the car. I slowly drifted to sleep, when I woke up the sound of metallic scraping filled my ears. I sat up yawning and looked to see a robot dog that was torn and scrambling toward me. Sparks went off from it and it fell, its body twitched and flickered a cat-like robot came to its side. The dog robot looked to it and the cat laid on top of the dog a weird noise came from the cat and I backed up and suddenly the cat blew up, I looked to see the cat gone with only a few pieces of metal. I went to the dog's side, It’s whole body was broken, it’s limbs were disconnected and its head wasn’t on correctly. It’s teal eyes flickered as it looked to me, sparks and crackles it lifted its head I gently touched its head and it laid down. I looked around and made a sled like thing to help get the dog to my shop. A robotic whining sound crackled from the dog I assured it that I was going to help him. I finally finished the sled and managed to pull the dog onto the sled rather out of breath from the who much he weighed I took a second and wiped the sweat from my forehead. Looking to it I tied scrap metal I would need to repair his body to the sled and dirtbike. The dirt bike really struggled to pull but we made it there and I was quite surprised. “Hey, buddy it’s gonna be okay.” I went straight to work. Hours passed and it was around midnight, I heard the locked doorknob turn I looked to the robot and covered him with a tarp that was nearby I unlocked the door. My brother stood “Hey…” He stood holding a glass of water and paper plate with a sandwich some chips,“I just want you to know that I am done with the late nights.” He handed me the food and I looked down on it “I am all dirty I can’t eat right now.” He set the plate down and gestured for me to take a drink I drank the whole glass and he watched me. “Doctor Wilson seems like a nice guy…” I nodded and set down the glass “yeah I want to get to know him better.” Cole chuckled and rubbed his neck “But his jokes… I could do without.” I paused thinking about his jokes and the way he laughed and smiled when he told them. “I like his jokes actually.” I said rubbing my hands, “So what did the Doc say?” He held his stomach and sighed. “Only a little bit of the skin was dead. He said I need to be really careful about keeping it clean.” I nodded and he looked around the shop, “It’s late you should take a break wanna play some video games?” I shook my head “I gotta finish this but you should go to bed.” I looked to him and he nodded “Yeah…” He opened the door and paused “Sleep well, bro.” I nodded and he left I locked the door and went straight back to work. Lifting the cover I looked to the dog he titled his head I chuckled rubbing his cold metal head. I worked on him all night long and when the morning came I wasn't done. “Can I stay home today?” She looked at me surprised normally I would never ask to stay and even if I was sick I would still try to go. “Are you feeling okay?” I nodded and Cole looked at me confused. “Did Connor do something?” I shook my head and held up my hands “no… I just.” The memory of being rapped flooded my brain and the horrors of my nightmares quickly followed. “I just need a day to myself,” My mom patted my back “okay… Cole, you stay home too.” My brother nodded and looked to me with eyes filled with worry, “Okay are you sure you are feeling well?" I nodded and my mom patter his back “I am glad to have you back baby.” He smiled and she hugged us “Okay I better go before I start crying,” she said chuckling. She walked out and I looked to Cole “what's going on?” I shrugged “Didn’t feel like going.” Cole sighed “Whatever nerd, call me if you need me.” I watched as he walked off he suddenly turned around “Connor, told me to make sure you eat.” Cole tossed me an apple. I took a bite of it and Cole nodded happily with himself he turned away and went back upstairs I waited to make sure the sound of his door closing. I threw away the apple and turned back to the garage, closing the door behind me I looked to the dog. Finishing the rest of him I looked to the strange harness over his mouth stopped me from fixing his face it was locked to his head. I stood looking over him, his body was made of pieces of metal making it look like kinda like a scales. I looked at the main panel to the inside of his body and saw a handle looking at it confused, it was a big dog so maybe whoever made him rode him? But whoever made him wasn’t happy bullet holes were scattered on his body. I looked into his eyes and gently patted his head, looking to the red letters painted on his chest “R-e-a?” I watched as something moved from his head and a spinning sound came from it, I watched as it projected something. I sat down and watched, a picture of the robotic dog with the letters. ‘Rea we brought you the cat and now we bring a weapon that will replace human soldiers and lower costs over time.’ I watched as the man gestured to a chart of money with different color lines and really confusing looking money stuff. ‘The Rea Dog is able to do far more than the Rea Cat created two years ago. The Dog is able to form a bond with one soldier it will only obey commands from its handler and is able to track the handler's health, it’s communications systems lock onto the main device the handler uses so where ever the handler goes commands can be given to the Rea. The Rea also understands the state of its body and knows when something is wrong and can send a message to the handler. While the body of the Rea is far stronger than anything we have ever worked on speed is not a problem, nor is jumping, and even carrying its handler. If the Rea connects with someone there is no undoing it. And connecting with the Rea is not easy the dog is able to understand human emotion and after gaining trust it will release a tag. This tag is to be put on your dog tag chain, as for the care of the Rea dog the dog can lead the handler to the nearest marked auto shop and it will walk you through how to repair it. This grants anyone to be a handler of a Rea which in the end keeps men off the fields and alive. The Rea does not have clearance to destroy targets until it has a handler but is able to understand when it is surrounded or in danger, Thank you that is all.” The light went out and I watched as the dog shook its head and I looked at the harness. The dog looked at me, “You need a name…” I walked around him scanning him as he followed me with his head. “You need something that fits you…” I looked down on him and snapped my fingers “Muscle!” I looked into his eyes and smiled “Can I call you Muscle?” I looked to him and patted his face “Is anything else wrong?” Muscle shook his head no, I crept over to his back and looked to a circle with a tab I pulled on it and watched as it opened it and smelled gas. I turned and grabbed a gas can and he stood walking over to me he put his butt to me. I filled him up and watched as he ran around like a puppy, “look at you all excited.” I looked around from something for him to play with, “hmm it’s gonna be kinda hard for you to play with your mouth being sealed shut.” I turned to him, “Maybe you want to go for a walk?” He jumped up and chuckled, I rolled up the garage and paused looking around the houses around us were for sale and the junkyard wasn’t far. I grabbed a cloth and threw it over him, “Stay by my side and make sure that tarp stays on until I take it off okay.” I opened the garage door and started up my bike looking around my heart was beating so fast. I looked to Muscle whose head barely poked out, I started out slow and watched as Muscle followed me when we got to the Junkyard I leaned over laughing. “Whoo, that was kinda scary huh Muscle?” I tore the cloth of him and watched as he raised his butt to the sky and wagged his long tail. “You wanna go huh? You gonna go fast!” He jumped around and I sped off Muscle followed and ran right alongside me. We spend around and after a while, I shut off the bike and relaxed with Muscle. He looked and took everything in. “You having fun?” He looked at me and closed his eyes and rubbed his head into my chest, laying next to me I pet him and watched the clouds. I watched as a bird landed on a piece of metal nearby Muscle closely watched it then looked to himself. He stood and it flew away, he watched as it landed on the ground and scratched around. “I like birds.” I said watching his reaction to the bird, he looked at the bird and rested his head on my lap. His head was heavy on my bony legs, “Oh Muscle poor baby, that harness can’t feel good pour baby boy.” I pulled on the harness and tried to get it off. I looked to him and rested my head on his jaw sighing “We will figure something out Muscle.” He looked at me and put his nose to my chest I then noticed something poking out of his head I looked at it “Did I miss something?” I pulled on it confused and it easily out, looking over it I remembered the video that came on when I said Rea and I put my right thumb on it and felt a pinch. I looked to my thumb to see a drop of blood. I looked to Muscle and locking like noise came him his head I pulled on the harness it easily came off and he opened his mouth and I looked to see sharp teeth with and grinders in the back of his mouth. I looked into his mouth and smiled holding his mouth open for me as I learned how he used them. “We should get home soon before Cole figures out we left.” I said looking to him he looked up. I grabbed the cloth and put it over him and started up my bike moving back to the house my brother stood in the garage and I chuckled nervously as Muscle sat beside me. I turned off my bike and looked to Cole. “What is that?” I looked to Muscle “It’s a tarp I use to cover stuff.” Cole grabbed the tarp I grabbed his hand “Don’t freak out okay.” He looked at me confused I gently pulled off the trap off, “Muscle this is Cole. Cole this is Muscle.” Cole looked to Muscle and walked around him, “how the fuck did you make him?” I rubbed my neck and looked to Muscle. “Muscle show him, Rea.” Muscle sat down and I watched as the projection came up and Cole watched it every now and then looking at me with disgust. When it ended he looked at me “So where the hell is the handler for this thing?” I dug the black tag that Muscle gave me it had blue edges and said Rea on the back. “I think Muscle made me his handler...” I looked to Muscle. Cole sat down and rubbed his face and then stood up “Ash look at me… ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE THAT IS A MILITARY ROBOTIC WEAPON OH MY GOD!!!!.” Cole looked at Muscle and then to me “You need to give him back.” I scoffed and looked down to him “no way.” I looked at Cole and he grabbed me and Muscle let out a deep growl. I looked to him to see Purple eyes “Hey Muscle calm down it’s okay he's my brother he has a temper it’s okay.” Muscle crept toward him and let out a loud bark, Cole let me go and I went to Muscle “it’s okay.” I patted his head and looked into his eyes watching as they changed back to teal. “Your paint is kinda boring…” I said as I looked him over I nodded and went straight to my desk and started to work on a paint job for my new friends despite my brother’s doubts about Muscle. I ended up with a drawing his body pitch black and different size dots of teal on his back and tail. A white skull for the top half of his face and the area around his eyes teal to really make them glow. But his body needs to change for this to work. I leaned over to Muscle and showed him my drawing, “How can I make your body a bit more smooth. Without taking anything anyway from you that make sense?” I watched as he sat down think then my phone dinged I looked over to it and looked over his plans. Removing pieces of metal and replacing them with smooth scale-shaped pieces instead which would actually help him move better. Then a notice popped up telling me to remove parts of his ear I did as he said and looked to his new body without the paint. He looked to himself and walked around, he looked at me and looked around to the buckets of paint I smiled. “Are you excited?” He jumped around and I chuckled I watched as Cole came in and looked Muscle. “Why the hell is he still here? The military is going to come looking for him," I scoffed and told him about when I first met him. I then got the paint and stuff ready, “So do you think the cat went crazy or this dog?” I looked to Muscle and thought about the cat “Muscle had bullet holes on him but no blood… I don’t know.” I got the paint ready and looked to Muscle. “We need to give him back.” I acted like my brother wasn’t there and focused on getting ready to paint. I turned to Muscle and began the long process of painting, Hours passed and when my mom came home the last coat of paint was finished and drying. I sat down with my mom and helping her unload the things from her car into the house. I helped put everything away and darted back to the garage my mom touched my back “Honey we need to talk.” I sat down nervous I held my hands and smiled, “I know you aren’t eating… I know you can’t sleep, I know you don’t talk to anyone at school… I know you are struggling right now and I think you should go to the mental hospital.” I grabbed my mom’s hands and looked into her eyes “Mom. I don’t know what you are talking about yeah I lost some weight yeah I am losing some sleep my dad died that’s expected. Just give me some time I will be just fine we all will.” I hugged my mom and she cried she wiped away her tears and smiled, “Okay honey and tomorrow is Friday you should go out with Connor.” I smiled and nodded “Yeah okay I will call him right now,” She nodded and I went into the garage and sighed picking up my phone I called Connor. It rang and rang and last second he picked up “Hello,” I froze. “Uh, I um… friday tomorrow.” I facepalmed and I heard Connor laughing, I watched as he clicked the facetime button I sat down in my chair and looked to him he was shirtless.
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