Iron In The Fog (Taro)

The sky cracking, a rift opening above a rural town, colors of all sorts seeping from the gaps as the crack expanded.

The towns eyes staring at the rift, as if being controlled, the sky cracks once more before the rift completely opens, pulling up houses and trees, people screaming and running before also being pulled from the ground.

Beams of light flicker across the town and the sky from the rift, earthquakes breaking the roads, ripping buildings into pieces.

People running through an alleyway, jumping over the alley fence and bursting through building doors, they continue to flee.

The floorboards beneath one suddenly cracks, they stand still and stare in horror, the floor gives out, they fall, faster and faster with each second that passes.

The others look at each other and exchange glances of knowing any one of them could vanish in seconds like their stranger friend,

The roof of the building tears apart, sheet by sheet the metal roofing lifts and flies about.

The shelves rattle with each rumble, the group of people start to run off once more, jumping through shattered store windows or by squeezing through the stores open doors.

The rift starts to ease, slowly releasing its grasp of the sky it disappears leaving only auras of color through the night sky.

Screams could be heard through the town, people helping one another, or taking the chance to steal and run away to a neighboring city.

Taro's eyes dart across a white ceiling, he tries to move his head but cannot, he tries to move something but soon gathers that he is tied down, a buzzing sound starts up, echoing through the room before becoming louder, becoming closer.

Blood splatters across the room, Taro goes to scream but is unable to produce any noise at all,

Am I stuck? He thinks to himself.

The buzzing sound slowly becomes dull, shuffling sounds could be heard, two different sounds of muffled footsteps can be heard.

Something cold touches Taro's skin, He can feel it fusing with his flesh, he tries his hardest to look down.

He could see two surgeons, both having facemasks and hairnets with glasses on, their blue gloves covered in red liquid, aprons dirty.

They start to unbind Taro's arms and legs, they then appear above him, looking straight into his pupils.

"After we unfasten your head, you may move towards your cell for further inspection." one of them says through the messy facemask.

The back of Hands moving can be felt at the back of Taro's head, then the surgeons step back, Taro slowly sits up, scanning the room from the top to the bottom.

"You may stand." One of the surgeons commands.

Taro slides his legs off the edge, preparing to stand, his eyes widen, a cold chill runs up his spine, shock starts to in.

"My legs..." he stammers.

He was staring at steel, not human legs but metallic robotic legs, he struggles to breathe, looking at his hands, only to see shiny silver looking hands.

One of the surgeons frustrated stamps over to the table, and grasp Taro by under the arm and lifts him.

"When one of us says to do something, You do it." He snap.

Taro steps forwards and backwards before falling over, metal hitting tiles echo in the small room.

My…My legs are really gone. Taro thinks to himself, he grabs onto the table and forces himself to stand, wobbling.

Taro is then helped by the other surgeon, they walk stumbling towards the doorway, Metallic clicking with each step they take as the mechanism shifts.

Taro is walked down a gloomy glowing hallway, lights fitted three feet apart on the left side of the hallway, running along as far has Taro can see.

Bars of cells stood on the right side, people staring as they walk past each one, one reaches his robotic arm out and starts to plead with the surgeons to be let out.

The surgeons ignore the man's words and continue walking, they soon start to walk slower before opening a cell and sit Taro on the cell's bed.

"You'll stay here for the night, get some strength and if you want to test your limitations try to get the hang of walking." They both say in synchronization, They then turn around and leave, the lights the wall start to flicker.

A rumble starts, the cell bars rattle, the whole cell and hallway starts to shake violently.

Taro is thrown to the floor with force from the shock waves, alarms start to sound throughout the place.

The intercom crackles before a voice can be heard.

"This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill." it blasts, having a pause before continuing.

"We have just entered a nuclear war, evacuation protocol is to be played out immediately, we have just been hit by four nuclear warheads above ground." the intercom says before becoming quiet and letting an eerie sound creep out.

Taro stands up, the vibrations have subdued, the facility was in total panic, doctors and scientists run past screaming, papers glide through the air as they throw their research in order to push past others.

A scientist trips, he manages to get a breath of air before being walked on, no one trying to help or avoid the scientist who had fallen.

Taro walks to the cell bars shaking, looking up each end of the hallway, he pushes lightly against the bars, they bend with ease, Taro grabs two bars and bends them outwards before letting himself pass through.

He then walks back towards the surgery room from which he woke up in, the people in the cell pleading more to be let out, Taro like the surgeons ignores them and walks.

He enters the room, picking up a rugged knife probably used for cutting bones, he turns to see a mirror, he looks into it.

Only to see a robot stare back, he walks, the robot walks.

Taro is once more shocked, he as become a prototype.

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