Blink 3
May 6th 2513
Kaitlyn's eyes fluttered but remained closed, her face was in the process of melting, no, frying, but there was a different, external screaming pain being ironed down by electronic charges that surged through her, snatching her control.
Kate needed to scream but couldn't so much as work her jaw.
But goodness did she try! She strained to unload her lungs for the freedom to let out the scream of the dead, the howl of those who'd left behind their hopes and dreams. The wail of the desperate to return to the past, to undo the horror of their very existence.
But none of it was allowed to her, her face was simultaneously locked tight and melted to muck.
For some reason, Kaitlyn still had a core, a waist, a stomach and shoulders which she shoved and twisted.
A moment later, even that was taken from her. Alien hands, clamped onto them and pushed to hold her still. It shoved her into the cushioned bed so hard that everything that wasn't metal was squashed, all but her neck was held. It left her head bobbing up like an ostrich. Somehow in someway, her eyes were allowed to open.
There were half a dozen people in a tiny metal box, only two were human. They were dressed in what looked like thin, hazmat suits. Next to them were four dull blue metal stick figures with metal heads. They were the impossible things holding her down. Still she fought letting out a heavy, meaty grunt. The sound grinding through her nostrils proved the most she could get.
There was so much pain, it had no name, no limit, it just ripped at her, unable to escape.
One of the humans in hazmat suits had picked up what looked to be a tiny gun and loaded it up, it created an electric hum and the bullet that had been loaded glowed, it was pointed at her leg, which was missing a foot, white bandages painted red with black charred bits. The gun was pointed down but Kate's focus had changed.
There was a pop and a hiss as light was poured into her leg as her mouth opened for a scream only for a second gun to be pressed to her eye. A weird sensation screamed to her brain and the world whited out.
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Next time
A bus ride. A secret plan. A baby brother who's not a baby anymore. Kate wants revenge—and she's not asking for permission. But trust is fragile, and her friends aren't sold yet. As government bots repair the world around them, something more dangerous brews in their small alliance. All Kate needs is a yes. What she gets is hesitation, cryptic messages… and Mother, dressed like a floral fever dream. If the plan's going forward, it starts here. And no one's walking away clean.