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agentwallflower · 4 years

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Supernova: Chapter 3

Nothing can hurt me, I got Raymond in Animal Crossing.

Anyway... updates. Back to work. I hate everything and everyone. My dice didn’t cure properly, but my friend liked her birthday present! I need to work on my art projects and... yeah. I’m frustrated.

Also it’s like 90 freaking degrees out... ugh.

Anyway, nobody wants to hear about my failed attempts to get published. I’m just going to submit the chapter and go to bed. Next chapter comes out on May 30th, so get excited.

Laters.

“Just a few more seconds and we'll be done.”

That was a relief, because it felt like her back was about to break in two.

Andy grimaced as she continued the fool's errand of trying to touch the floor while standing. Maybe it was because she was just too damn tall to pull it off, or all of her height came from her legs, but she still had quite a ways to go. Until she got the all clear, all she could do was glare at the floor and hope nothing broke along the way.

Up above, someone was measuring the length of her back with a way too cold tape measure. They never really told her what they were looking for, or what their readings meant after they finished up. She chalked it up to them trying to measure her growth and never asked more questions. Even if she had, Andy doubted she would get any real answers out of the white coats. They took data, she gave it – that was how they worked at this point.

“Are we done yet?”

“One more measurement and... done. You can relax now.”

The tech stepped back – old hand at this, no doubt. Andy's body didn't react kindly to having to hold the position for as long as they needed. Instead of straightening up, it snapped. She wound up on the floor face-down, resisting the urge to groan as her vision swam. It never got any easier, no matter how many times she went through this.

If they were testing her flexibility, those readings had to be abysmal.

“Do you need a hand?” a softer voice came from her side. New person, had to be. They were close enough that they could've offered a hand, but judging from how they stepped back that it had been out of habit.

Definitely a new person. They were always scared of her.

She eventually sat up, still feeling the pulling sensation of tension in her back. “It's cool. A linoleum floor isn't going to take me out that easily.”

They didn't argue with her as she stood, feeling her body go rigid at points. It took a few seconds of feeling like shit for it to stop hurting so much. Well, hurt was relative – they weren't quite sure she could feel that kind of thing. Uncomfortable worked just fine for the official records. What she felt didn't really matter as much.

That was odd in her opinion, but she was just the test subject. It wasn't her ass dealing with the world's worst IRB.

“How's our favorite subject today?”

A familiar voice caused Andy to turn her head. There was a woman in the doorway, tablet in hand. She knew her as Dr. Sakamoto, the scientist in charge of the study. They had known each other for years, since Andy was five. In all those years, she hadn't seemed to age much. Then again, she was a pretty bad judge of age.

At least she didn't have pliers this time.

“All the subject readings are - “ the tech was ignored as Sakamoto strode into the room, heading for her subject instead. Oh, definitely a newer scientist – they weren't used to their subjects being able to talk back. They would learn in time.

Andy shrugged her shoulders as best she could. “I don't like bending over.”

“You never do.” The woman chuckled good-naturedly – Andy always doubted whether that was true or not – as she approached. “Do you mind if we get a count on your teeth? I see your jaw is sitting a little differently this month.”

Before she could say anything, the scientist added “No pliers, just a count.”

Good. The last time they put pliers in her mouth, it was impossible to get rid of the taste. For this, Andy was more than happy to open her mouth. By now, everyone there was smart enough not to stick anything squishy inside if they wanted it back in one piece. Instead, she felt the cold tap of metal against her teeth as they were methodically counted.

One of the great parts of this was that she had no gag reflex to speak of – they could go all the way back and never get a reaction out of her.

“42... 43...” One final tap. “Looks like you have 46. That's 2 more than last time. Have you found you're eating any differently?”

Another shrug of her shoulders. “The front ones really do all the work, I don't pay much attention to my back row.”

“We'll have to observe you next snack time.” All the data was entered into her pad. Sakamoto nodded at the findings. “Looks like that's all we need for you today. Is your mother picking you up this time-”

Andy snorted as she headed back over to the table in order to get dressed. Conversations were always easier like this when she had something on her. The worn denim and cotton was something like her mental armor.

“You know she hasn't picked me up in years, doc. Besides, pretty sure one of her clients shit the bed this morning.” She settled her shirt back into place, rotating her shoulder to make sure everything was sitting right. “It's Aunt Miri again.”

Sakamoto nodded as she continued to type. “Right, Aunt Miri. Has she given any thought to letting me get a sample-”

Another snort as Andy pulled her necklace back into place. “You know her answer, doc: you can jam your sample tube up your ass.”

Well, her aunt had said way worse than that the day they had spoken about it, but it would have been rude to repeat those words. Besides, she didn't have nearly as strong a control on Russian as the older woman did. Her accent just never came out right; maybe it was how her mouth was shaped?

At least the doctor didn't look too disappointed in the prospect that she wasn't going to get what she wanted. “I can at least dream she'll change her mind one day, yes?”

“Keep dreaming, doc, Aunt Miri has a definite no contact order with doctors who want to study her. Pretty sure she's got acid on her nerve endings just thinking about it.”

Andy left the room as soon as the door opened and before Sakamoto could try to explain to her that acid didn't work that way. She could still hear talk of denaturing proteins being sub-optimal for nerve endings as it slid shut behind her. Now she was alone in the hallway, but not really alone. After all, there were cameras everywhere.

Besides, anywhere she went in the lab was a double wall. She could see them watching her now behind the wall that was supposed to be a stretch of blank hallway.

Andy walked along, hands in the pockets of her well-worn jeans. By now, she was long used to the calculating stares and eternal scratching of notepads or keying of information. It didn't take a genius to realize she was their prize research project. To them, she was probably nothing more than points of data on a graph or the byline to getting a new research grant. It probably should have bothered her, but she just didn't have the energy to care anymore.

Besides, they didn't know their data was faulty. After all, wasn't the point of watching a subject covertly to see how they reacted that you weren't caught with the binoculars?

“Wonder if I can grab a snack before I go.” The room she wanted was close by anyway. A glowing sign pointed the way, but she was going off muscle memory at that point. One of the fun facts about being her was that her vision was... off. Things needed to be flipped and oriented from bottom to top for her to be able to read. Most places obviously didn't bother with that, so... she was kind of functionally illiterate.

That didn't matter much, though. It wasn't like she went anywhere that reading was required.

It was fun to watch a few people flinch as she poked her head in. “Hey, is there any leftovers for me today?”

One of the older techs, one who was long used to her, pointed to a nearby bowl with a practiced gesture. “We have some blue ones, and I think Ray from the night shift snuck in a purple. Something about you being a growing kid and needing all the nutrition you can get.”

Indeed, there was a delicious little treat sticking out of the top of a plastic bowl labeled ' for Andromeda'. At one point, she had scratched out the other half of her name with an ill-gotten sharpie, but the fact remained the bowl was for her. And as such, she was more than happy to take a few samples and go off happy, munching.

Technically, she should have been sitting while she ate – less crumbs. But they needed all the data they could get on her, right?

Andy was soon in her designated waiting area, polishing off the last of her snack. From her seat, she could see out the path that would let her leave the lab. It was through a metal-detector, a full body scanner, and a place where few nasty looking guards sat. One of them nodded to her, but said nothing. They never did.

Once, when she was younger, she had tried to run out on her own when she'd seen her mother. Almost getting shot had taught her the hard way to wait until she got signed out.

“Wonder where Aunt Miri is?” Andy licked the last bit of residue off one of her fingers as she watched for familiar signs of her aunt. “Hope she didn't get stuck cleaning up the mess this morning.”

She had gotten to see a bit of it when her sister had let her use her phone. Even a few hours later, they were probably still defrosting the pipes and getting downtown moving. It was no doubt making traffic a nightmare.

Lucky for her, Bear Paw Labs wasn't anywhere near that. It paid to be set on the edge of a massive explosion that required defcon-five levels of security to get into, she guessed. Of course, that meant getting internet was a nightmare, but it wasn't like she had a phone to play on anyway.

Some might call her analog. Others would consider the fact she was 20 and under constant house arrest somewhat troubling. She tended to agree with the latter.

“Oh, come on. We do this every time I come to pick her up. I'm pretty sure you know who I am now!”

“I'm sorry, ma'am. Rules are rules.”

The sound of an annoyed Russian lesbian carried over the soft beeps of a metal detector. Andy stood up from her seat and traveled the small distance to where she would meet the woman. At the moment, she was going through the full body scan, glowering at the guard who was mostly used to it by now.

Mostly – they still flinched when she set her gaze on them.

“Having fun, Aunt Miri?” Andy slung her bag over her shoulder as she waited for the all clear sign. Her aunt may not have been the biggest woman physically, but something about her ice white skin and pale blue eyes set people on edge. Add in she looked like she walked straight out of a punk rock concert in the 70's, and well... people tended to not want to mess with her. Mostly. There were still some security guards who didn't know better.

They were so not paid enough for dealing with her.

The woman flashed her a smirk. “Oh, always. Just catching up with Bob here as he deigns to ignore the cavity search.”

“Ma'am, we don't-”

“It's a joke, kid. Don't take it so hard.”

She stomped forward, heels of her thick boots squeaking against the metal floor. Better for disinfecting, but it wasn't like they had much to do there. Andy was glad to meet her in the middle, under the watchful eyes of the guards. Together, they walked through the gate and officially stood on the other side.

Another successful custody hand off between the United States government and her family.

“So, grow anything new since the last time I picked you up?” Miri had dark circles under her eyes that suggested she wasn't getting all the sleep she needed. Given the fact she was awake in the daytime, that was no surprise. When it came to cycles, her aunt preferred the night. Something about it hurt her sensitive eyes less. Of course, she was always there to pick her up... so she had a lot of really cool aunt points to say the least.

Andy nodded as they exited the lab. On the outside, it looked so damn normal that it was hard to believe she spent so much of her time there. Of course, she wasn't sure what it should have looked like. Maybe it should have had a permanent dark cloud hanging over it? Lightning in the background with eerie music?

…

Maybe she watched too many B horror movies. She had a short list of approved media, ok?

“Couple more teeth, but they were focused on my back again.” Andy slid into the passenger seat and watched as her aunt soon joined her. “I don't know what they're looking for, do you?”

Normally, she didn't expect people to answer her when it came to her future – things were weird there. But if anyone knew, it would be Aunt Miri. After all, she had... well, known the one who came before her.

It was hard, thinking about Cass sometimes. Clearly she wasn't the only one who felt that way – Miri's white knuckles got even more ghostly as she gripped the steering wheel. Her entire body looked tense as she started the car to drive off.

Whoops – tactical error.

“Sorry, kid. I can't say I ever saw them without their clothes on.” At a red light she reached over to nudge Andy's shoulder. “Maybe they're expecting you to grow wings or something. Then maybe you could get home yourself one of these days.”

Her shoulders shook with mirth as she playfully waved the woman's hand away. “I'm already weird enough, I don't need wings. Sakamoto would never let me rest if it turns out I can fly. She's still tying to get your spit, by the way.”

Miri smirked as she kept driving. “Well, looks like I'll have to break her heart again. My darling will just have to be disappointed.”

And then she let out a harsh bark of laughter that made her entire body shake. Andy joined her, shoulders twitching as her body moved. She couldn't laugh, but she has long since figured out this was her version of it. While she wasn't sure what actual laughter felt like, this wasn't so bad – almost pleasant even.

The ride calmed down after that as they waded through afternoon traffic out of the city. The summer camps and clubs were out, and the summer college session was right behind them. The streets were alive with people, all of them buzzing with activity. Just watching them made Andy feel light headed. One thing she would never get over was just how many people there were.

So many... and they just went about their day.

At the sight of a girl who could have been her sister's age, she turned to her aunt. “Jen's got a dance thing coming up.”

“I know. It's Friday.” Miri frowned. “I'm not going to be able to make it, kid, I-”

Andy finished for her. “I know, you've got temple. Hopefully Mom or Sara can go for her. Wish I could...”

She leaned against the glass, feeling the vibration through her skull. “Aunt Miri, am I ever going to be let out on my own?”

With her eyes to the glass, Andy didn't get to see her aunt's expression. She did, however, hear an all too familiar beeping coming from the woman's jacket. Miri swore under her breath in Russian as they approached the next red light, and then she started to dig in her pocket.

Two beeps – work was calling.

For the next few moments, Andy didn't move. She couldn't even look at the woman next to her as she grumbled into her communication device. It was a mix of Russian and what sounded like Hebrew, though it might have been something else. After all, Miri had gotten around places before she had settled down in Bear Paw.

“I can't come, Scanner. I have my niece with me and I have to get her home!”

Andy felt her insides jump.

“Seriously, you can't....” Miri grumbled and ran a hand through her short white hair, mussing it so it stuck up in the back. “Shit, are you sure you can't get Richter?”

A few more moments of awkward conversation, before she sighed. “Alright. I'll drive there now. I better get paid double for this.”

And then she shut the communicator off. Andy was aware there was a pair of eyes drilling into the back of her head, but she didn't move. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, including trying to touch her toes.

If she could have, she would have been grinning.

“Before you get any ideas, you're staying in the damn car.” Miri punched in coordinates on her phone and turned onto a new road. “You're not even supposed to be with me when I'm working.”

Andy nodded, feeling like she could float. “Stay in the car, got it.”

Even if it was in the car, she was going. For the first time in her life, she was going to get to watch her aunt work in person. Somehow, her shitty day had just gotten a whole lot better as they continued down the road.

Now... just what were they going to find there?

#Supernova Collision Trilogy #writing #novel

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