by Logan Byrne
“Juliet?” I heard.
I looked around and didn’t see anybody.
“In here,” I heard.
I looked and saw somebody standing in an old subway stairwell.
“It’s me,” he said.
It was Marcus. He was standing in the stairwell opening trying to hide himself.
“Come here,” I said.
“I can’t. You’ll be scared,” he said.
“No, I won’t. Why would I be scared of you? You’re my best friend.”
“You’ll be scared because I don’t look like you. I don’t look normal.”
“Marcus, don’t be stupid. Just come here.”
“Promise you won’t scream?” he asked.
“I promise,” I said.
He walked out of the shadows slowly. I instantly saw what he meant. He was different from me. He was an androidian.
I was shocked but also confused. I didn’t scream or shout or even yell. I didn’t even flinch. I really didn’t know what to make out of the situation.
“This is me,” he said with his head down.
I walked over to him and hugged him.
“Why are you hugging me?” he asked confusedly.
“Because you are my friend and I love you.”
He hugged me back as I felt part of his cold, metallic arm press against my skin.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“I didn’t think you’d talk to me again if you knew the truth. Most people are frightened by someone like me,” he said with sadness in his voice.
I stepped back and looked at him from head to toe. He wasn’t entirely mechanical. He had metal plating on his arms, sort of like armor. He had a cybernetic eye and metal plating on his left hand and fingers.
“How long have you been like this?” I asked.
“Since birth. If I had a choice, I never would have wanted to look like this. I hate it,” he said.
“Well, it doesn’t change how I feel about you and what I think. You’re an amazing friend and person. I care about you deeply.”
He looked at me and smiled. I could tell it meant a lot to him. He was suffering, but I knew I was helping to brighten his mood.
“Would you like to sit down and talk?” he asked.
“Yeah, where should we go?” I asked.
“We can go down here,” he said as he pointed down the stairwell. “Nobody ever comes down here and the subway doesn’t run over here anymore so we will be safe. I am just afraid of going outside and having someone spot me.”
“I understand. Yeah, let’s go,” I said as I wrapped my arm in his playfully.
We walked down the stairwell into an old subway tunnel. It looked like it hadn’t been used in decades. A smell of soot and fish filled the air. It burnt my eyes as I went down, but slowly subsided the longer I was there.
We sat on the edge of the subway platform. A few rats scurried by a few feet below us looking for scraps.
“Were you able to get here okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. Do you live close to here?” I asked.
“Yeah, not too far away.”
“Do you live with your parents?”
“No, I live with friends. There are a few of us that are like me. People that never wanted or asked for this. We kind of just stick together.”
“You know you don’t look bad.”
“Thanks, but I think I do. I can’t just go out and talk to people or go to the store. It’s impossible without being arrested.”
“Is there any way to get rid of it? You know, like reverse everything?”
“We are still looking into that. As of now, there is no way to take everything out and be okay. There are implants in our brains, which makes it impossible to just take out. The metal parts on me are also fused with my bones, which makes it difficult without a doctor and hospital. I can’t just go walk into those places either, or else they will report me.”
“Have you tried to go to the government and tell them your story? Tell them you were made like this when you were a baby and you never wanted it and you want to lose it all. Maybe their doctors and scientists could figure a way to—“
“No, it isn’t that easy. They will imprison us for the way we are, not the way we want to be. Unless we find a way to do this ourselves someday, this is it. This is my entire life,” he said with his head drooped down.
“You will find a way someday,” I said as I put my hand on his shoulder.
“Enough of that subject,” he said. “How is school going?”
“It’s okay. It’s different from my last school. I only go there because of my father. If he weren’t who he was, I would be in just a regular school. I’m not smart or talented enough to go there on my own,” I said.
“Sure you are. You’re a very smart, beautiful girl. I bet you would’ve gotten in there all on your own,” he said, smiling at me.
“Come on, let’s go for a walk,” I said as I got up and grabbed his arm.
He got up and we started walking down the subway tunnel. It was so amazing being in here and seeing it up close. You always ride a subway and pass by these walls every day, but it is spectacular when you take the time to really stop and look at it. Human ingenuity at its best.
As we walked, we saw abandoned areas where people had lived.
“Do other people live down here?” I asked.
“Nope, not over here anyway. These are all really old. Probably a couple decades at least.”
A couple rats and spiders crossed our paths as we continued on. It was amazing being down here. I felt so alone and at peace. It felt like a place where nobody would find you or bother you: somewhere to hide.
“How long have you been on your own?”
“Probably about ten years.”
“Wow, that long?”
“Yeah, it has been tough. Some of my friends are a few years older though, so everyone looks out for one another. It is really hard being like this. We never asked for it. We were normal humans at one point, but were changed against our will.”
“I don’t see you for what you are, I see you for who you are.”
Marcus looked at me and smiled. He had a really nice smile. He had straight, white teeth that contrasted perfectly against his dark skin.
“How do you find your way around this place? It is so dark and endless. Don’t you ever get lost?”
“It was hard at first, but I have mapping functions in my eye. Even if you dropped me off blindfolded I would be able to find my way back. That’s something that is actually useful about being like this,” he said while chuckling.
“I wish I was different. I’m just the same as everyone else. Average.”
Marcus stopped me and grabbed my hands.
“Juliet,” he said. “You are far from average. You are so special and amazing. You would make any guy so happy if you only smiled at him. There are guys out there that would treat you amazingly.”
After he said this, he stared into my eyes. I hadn’t kissed many guys, but I knew from how he was looking at me that he wanted to kiss me. It wasn’t that I didn’t think Marcus was attractive, but I didn’t think I was ready for that. I loved spending time with Marcus, but I rushed with James and I didn’t want just to rush into anything anymore. I wanted to play things safe and make sure somebody was worth it before giving them my heart.
I grabbed his hand and started walking again. We needed to start heading back to the stairwell so that I could head home. I wanted to make sure I got home well before my parents.
“We should head back,” I said. “I have to get home before my parents and I don’t want them to know I’m gone.”
“Oh, okay,” he said with hesitation. “We can head back.”
We started walking back with an awkward silence. Did he know I knew he wanted to kiss me? Could I just play it off like I was clueless to spare his feelings? I didn’t know the answer, but I knew if I didn’t bring it up I wouldn’t risk anything.
&
nbsp; We finally made it back to the stairwell and headed up to the outside. The sun was getting close to setting, and I definitely wanted to walk home while it was still light out.
“Well, here we are,” he said.
“I really had fun with you today,” I said. “I hope you will hang out with me again.”
“Of course,” he said. “I really had a lot of fun today too.”
I went in to give Marcus a hug. Even though his mechanical parts were cold, his hugs were very warm. Underneath these metal and mechanical parts was a human man who had a lot of love to give anybody who would accept it.
As we pulled away from the hug slowly, something happened. Marcus kissed me. I was shocked, but I didn’t pull away. I didn’t slap him or yell at him. I closed my eyes and kissed him back.
The kiss didn’t last very long, but it had a huge impact. He didn’t say anything after he kissed me. He looked a little embarrassed, but he just walked back down the stairwell, looking back at me before he went into the shadows.
I stood there in shock before starting to walk home. As I walked home, I kept thinking of that single kiss. What did it mean? Was it a mistake? Should I have treated it differently?
I didn’t mind the kiss, though. It wasn’t gross or disgusting. Marcus was a good kisser, but had bad timing.
What if James found out about this? Even though he and I weren’t together, I still had thoughts that maybe someday we could work things out. I didn’t want to get Marcus in trouble.
I got home an hour before my parents. I went upstairs and changed so they would think I had been home all day studying. I went downstairs and sat on the couch trying to figure out what I wanted.
I wanted James, but now I had started having feelings about Marcus. His kiss wasn’t anything likes James’s, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. I felt like I was in the middle of an incredibly strange love triangle.
I kissed both a vampire and an androidian, and I liked them both. I had only kissed a couple human boys and none of them compared to either James or Marcus. This was something from straight out of a movie. These things didn’t happen to people in real life, but it made perfect sense that it would happen to me.
“Honey, we’re home,” my mother yelled from the back door.
I walked into the kitchen and welcomed them home. I just wished I could ask them for advice on what to do.
“How was your trip?” I asked.
“Oh, it was wonderful!” my mother exclaimed. “We visited this small little shop in the middle of town. They had so many neat little things. We even got you this,” my mother said as she handed me a braided bracelet.
The bracelet was very pretty and old. It fit perfectly on my wrist and actually looked vintage.
“Thank you,” I said. “I really like it.”
“You are very welcome, dear,” my mother said, smiling.
I could tell that me liking the bracelet made her happy. Sometimes it was the little things like saying thank you that could brighten somebody’s day.
“What smells in here?” my father asked. “It smells like dead fish in here.”
What he smelled was the beautiful pier subway tunnel. My father smelled the fragrant aroma of dead fish and dust that covered my skin and hair.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I’ve been smelling it all day. Maybe the neighbors are doing something.”
“Yeah, must be,” he said.
I told my mother thank you again and went upstairs. I lay in my bed staring at the ceiling. There was this blue dot on the ceiling that reminded me of Marcus’s cybernetic eye. The dim blue hue was contrasting the white ceiling the same way his contrasted against his eye. It was beautiful.
I looked at my phone to see I had no new messages. I wanted to just straight up ask Marcus why he kissed me. I wanted to know what I did that would make him want to. Most of all, I wanted to know why I sort of liked it.
All I could think about was his quivering lip pressing against mine. The way he walked away afterwards as if it was nothing at all. Not even so much as an explanation.
I focused on the blue dot as I started drifting off to sleep. It kept blurring and getting bigger and bigger as my eyelids slowly dropped down.
“Marcus! Don’t hurt him!” I yelled.
“He can’t hurt me,” said James.
“Would you like to test that and see?” yelled Marcus.
James lunged at Marcus with great speed. Marcus fired a few shots from his plasma cannon but missed each time. James was too fast for him. Even with his cybernetic eye and implants, he couldn’t target somebody as fast as James while he was moving.
James got up close to Marcus and punched him. The punch barely fazed Marcus. His body armor protected him against the blows James was delivering. James punched Marcus in his fleshy side, making him stumble back a few steps.
James chuckled as he found Marcus’s weak spot.
“Looks like you aren’t as tough as you think,” said James.
“Come get some,” snarled Marcus.
James jumped at Marcus as he raised his cannon and shot James point-blank. James flew back twenty feet and slammed into the asphalt. The smoke seeped out of Marcus’s cannon as he laughed.
“Looks like you aren’t as tough as you think, fang boy,” Marcus yelled.
As James got up, his eyes turned beet red and he started panting heavily. His fangs came down and he let out a giant roar before lunging at Marcus.
His speed was awe-inspiring. He ran up buildings and everywhere with a foot point before tackling Marcus to the ground. The struggle between them could be felt everywhere. Their arms trembled as they tried to pin the other’s arms.
I could see sparks coming from Marcus’s cannon. It was breaking at the seams. James saw the sparks and smiled. He knew it was soon going to be over.
James’s head started moving in closer to Marcus’s neck. He was going to bite him. Marcus was an androidian, but he was also still a human.
As James was moving in, an incredibly bright light flashed directly in his face. He yelled and jumped back covering his eyes. Marcus’s cybernetic eye shot out a blinding beam of light.
As James was tending to his eyes, Marcus rested against the building holding his arm. He was hurt, but he had to keep going. He aimed his cannon at James and went to fire. His cannon made a few sputtering noises and spewed out some smoke. It wasn’t working.
He pressed some buttons on his arm and a small rocket came out from underneath his cannon. He aimed it at James with accuracy, as if this was his last shot. He knew he couldn’t beat James without his cannon. He knew he was powerless against him. If he got him now, he might have a chance.
He hit a button and the rocket took off towards James. James looked up and saw it a few feet away from him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest as the rocket hit him.
I woke up in a cold sweat, panting heavily while looking all around me. It was a dream. It wasn’t real. Why was this happening to me? Why would I have a dream about them fighting? I hadn’t even talked to James in days. What I just experienced was far too real to be just a dream. It was more than that: it was a symbol.
I went downstairs to get some water. I needed something refreshing to try to calm me down. As I was standing in the kitchen, I looked out the window. It was dark and ominous outside. Fog gently flowed above the grass as if something big was blowing it away.
As I looked at the dim neighborhood lights, I saw a shadow in the distance. It was moving, and it was moving fast. I wasn’t sure what or who it was. It didn’t seem to have a purpose or direction. Just moving about from rooftop to rooftop. I closed the blinds and went back upstairs. I hope whatever it was it didn’t see me.
I opened my computer silently and hoped Marcus would be online. I wasn’t supposed to be on the computer this late, but I needed to talk to him. I needed an answer for his actions. He wasn’t online. I sighed and closed my computer. I guess I would have to wait a little longer before finding out his inten
tions.
On Monday I considered talking to Mr. Garret. He wasn’t the best counselor in the world, but he was all I had. If I went to a professional, my parents would find out and then I would get questioned and have to tell them why I was going to a therapist. If I went to Mr. Garret, I would get someone not as qualified but nobody would find out. I decided to not have anybody find out.
I got to school early and went to see if he was in his office.
“What can I help you with?” his secretary asked.
“I was wondering if Mr. Garret is available. I would like to talk with him.”
“Have a seat. I will let him know you’re here.”
I went and took a seat on a hard chair as I waited for Mr. Garret to show up. I sat there for ten minutes before anybody acknowledged I was even there.
“Ms. LaVoe,” Mr. Garret said. “I’m ready for you now.”
I walked back to his office with him and sat on his couch trying to prepare myself for what was coming next.
“What can I help you with?” Mr. Garret asked.
“I am having a problem and was hoping you could help me with it.”
“I can sure try my best. Why don’t you tell me a bit about what is troubling you?”
“Well,” I said. “I like two guys. One is my ex-boyfriend, and the other is a good friend who has always been there for me. Recently my friend kissed me unexpectedly when we hung out. I had a dream the other night they were fighting. The fight was very strong and intense, and I didn’t know how to feel. I sort of rooted for both of them.”
“How did the dream end?”
“Well, I woke up as one was about to go down.”
“Which one was about to go down?”
“My ex-boyfriend.”
“Well,” he said. “That could signify that you are done with your ex-boyfriend. Your mind was battling itself to figure out who you wanted, and in the end your friend won. Maybe you don’t want to be put through whatever your ex-boyfriend put you through, and this new guy beat him for your heart.”
“I’m just not sure. I had thought of the possibility of dating my friend, but that was a long time ago. I like him and all, but I am not sure I would like him as a boyfriend. I was very much in love with my ex-boyfriend though, and would most likely get back together with him if he wanted to.”
