The elevator ride to the underground lab was silent except for the rhythmic humming of the descent. The air felt cooler underground. The elevator traveled at least 3 stories down. Durwood was always uneasy when at the mercy of a machine. He couldn't help but think that the elevator could drop him and the two other scientists to their deaths at any moment. The ride stopped with an abrupt grinding clank. 

“This way.” 

Her lab coat flowed past the partially open doors and into a dark room with 2 metal chairs and a large window. Durwood followed but the other scientist remained. The chairs were hard and cold. Durwood began to fidget in his seat until the woman in the lab coat motioned to look out of the window. 

“This is a one way viewing screen. Please watch below as we begin the test.”

“Of course.” Durwood grumbled in discomfort. 

The other scientist had emerged from the elevator just one floor down. The white lab coat picked up air as the timid little man walked quickly to a console. A slight buzz signaled the motion of a thick metal slab. A man was strapped to the other side. The buzzing continued until the scientist was face to face with his subject.

“Maw,” Durwood whispered as if his voice could escape the room. The timid scientist was slightly less meek when standing before someone who was unable to move. The scientist took a deep breath and deepened his shaky voice as he spoke. “Awaken”.

The dead man took his first breath in days. Maw shot open his eyes and thrashed against the metal slab. After a brief struggle he glanced around the room and rested his gaze on a timid little man standing in front of him.

“Welcome back Mr. Maw. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?”, the scientist spoke in a scripted tone.

“What? Last...an explosion…” Maw didn't recognize his own voice at first.

“Anything after that?”, the scripted questions continued.

“No…” Maw was becoming less confused, and more annoyed.

The scientist decided to redirect his questions. “How about before, what's the first thing you remember?” 

Maw resisted the urge to speak, but failed,  “My….my mother”.

A smirk grew on the timid man’s face, “Good. Tell me about her”.

“She was… She was a slave.” Maw never talked about his mother but he felt compelled to answer.

“I see.”, the timid man nodded.

“Not like that! She was just a worker who couldn't pay her debts.” The restraints grew tighter.

“Understood Mr. Maw. We are aware of your background. This is a simple memory test.” The scientist did not falter in his scripted tone.

“Stupid whore. Ended up having me and sending me off to the wastes alone. Got picked up by raiders. Must have thought I was a runner. But one of them could tell I wasn't. They took me in. Been doing jobs ever since. We done here?” Maw was growing impatient.

The script continued.“What do you know of your father?”.

Maw sighed deeply, “Nothin’. Most likely a worker or something. Could’ve been the master for all I know.”

“Birth records indicate that you were born after your mother became a slave.” The scientist shuffled in his lab coat.

“So?”, the restraints were even tighter now.

The timid man cleared his throat. “So in actuality, it is far more likely that your father was also a slave.”  

Maw didn't even feel the resistance of the strap as he wrapped his cold fingers around the scientists’ neck. The remaining straps broke just as easily as Maw stepped off of the metal slab. The scientist fell  with a lifeless thud. His neck was rung like a wet rag. Maw stepped over the corpse and approached a mirror across the room. It took just a few steps to realize that his reflection wasn't moving. Maw stared at the slender framed man with a scorched hole in his chest. He walked through the thick glass and steel like paper as he began to recall the events after the explosion. The Durwood girl and a slave. That slave who tried to run but….No. The truth pierced his chest like the bullet from his own gun. “Look at you”, he placed a hand over his wound and stared into his own dead eyes. 

“Dead by the hands of a damn slave”, Maw leaned in close and kissed his forehead before tearing into his old flesh. The body looked as though it was chewed and spit out by a voracious animal. The sterile room was painted a dark red, and decorated with severed limbs and chunks of flesh. Only the head and the stump of a neck remained on the table.

“Weak!” Maw spat in disgust. He scanned the room until he found a mirror. After wiping away the blood he could see himself again. Maw stood frozen, staring at the face that wasn't his face. Durwood had been watching the whole time, joined by the unwilling scientist who had sealed her eyes shut well before the true sadistic display was unveiled. Durwood witnessed what could only be described as a waking nightmare. Long sections of skin flapped on the ground by Maw’s feet. The synthetic skin was painless to remove and wasn't as messy as the real thing. A state of the art cybernetic body was revealed. A sleek black musculoskeletal frame with steel plating over the joints, hands, feet and any weak point on the human body. Maw was careful to remove every last piece of skin before returning to the head. His hands moved with surgical precision as he ripped off his own face and discarded the rest. Carefully, he placed his fleshy mask over his metallic skull; careful to use the available tools to attach the skin correctly. Maw returned to the mirror to marvel at his transformation. His face was still twisted into an expression of pleasure and pain befitting his twisted soul.

Durwood turned away from the horrific scene below to discover the scientist attempting to activate a nearby control band hanging on the wall. A firm strike pushed her to the ground. Durwood stood over her with an outstretched hand. The scientist put the control band over Durwood’s bare wrist and dare not move again. Durwood raised his new control band to his chin.

“Maw”, the master spoke in a cool but authoritative tone.

“Durwood?”, Maw scanned the room but failed in locating the source of the voice. Sensors in his new body indicated that Durwood was communicating directly into his brain.

“Now that you're done...adjusting to your new body, I have some work for you”, the master walked past the sobbing scientist and entered the elevator. When the doors opened he was met by Maw. 

Maw had intended on saying and doing a few things to Durwood when he saw him, but for some reason he was compelled to listen as the pompous man spoke. As instructed he entered the elevator and listened in silence. Durwood was straight to the point as he raised one wrist to reveal a collar beacon heading southeast. “ Go get my property”.

The beacon blinked red as it moved; growing brighter until Belle tugged at the collar on her neck. The runaways had traveled far and now the Windhelm estate was in view. Holder awoke when Belle stopped the truck. Audrey turned to face Holder, waiting until he finished yawning. “While you were asleep, me and Belle decided that it was best if you didn’t come.”

Before Holder could respond, Belle had begun replaying the conversation that he missed during his nap. Holder listened to them both, but crossed his arms in disagreement. “So you want me to hide out here just in case your little plan goes bad?”

Audrey and Belle nodded in unison. Holder jumped out of the truck in a huff. He watched as they continued towards the estate, driving down the monochrome plains. The wind swept away the tire tracks just as fast as they were made. Holder dug out a foxhole  in a single scoop and rested inside the shade. The sun was hot and he was still tired. Just tell me when. 

Belle found comfort in knowing that Holder was on standby. Audrey fixed herself inside the passenger side mirror as the Windhelm estate gates came into view. Belle followed Audrey in silence as a guard scanned the control band and collar. “Confirmed. This slave is registered to you, Miss Audrey Durwood.” Audrey cringed. The guard paused on the last name, then turned to his associate. The other guard began frantically searching for an arrival schedule. Audrey cleared her throat and raised her head high as she spoke.

“Tell William I am here for a visit; he did say that I was welcome back anytime.”

The guard snatched the key from Belle as the gates opened. “I’ll bring the truck around for you Miss Durwood”. As the truck pulled off a smaller black car arrived to transport the ladies into the compound. Belle stared at Audrey in silence. She had never heard Audrey speak in such a manner. It was like she took on an accent; similar to her father's way of speaking. Audrey stared out the window of the car, sitting with dignified posture.