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I was going to a party organized by my company. It was meant to celebrate my latest success in the most important case for us. I saved them. I saved the company.
Of course, I was excited. My friend from college and all my colleagues would be there. It was going to be a beautiful night, one that was supposed to make me forget all the lies I had to spill, the sins I had to commit, but it turned out to be a night that I'd never forget. Its shadow will forever torment my existence.
After my hard work, after all my sacrifices, after saving them, the company I poured my heart to thanked me by trying to kill me.
That night, I could feel my heart beat inside my chest for the last time.
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On the way to the party, I was reading the newspaper. My driver, silent as usual, was focused on the road. The night was beautiful, no clouds hid the stars, the moon illuminated the city marvelously. But I was too focused on the words on white pages to enjoy that sight.
I was calm and excited at the same time. Unaware of what was going to happen.
A bright light suddenly caught my attention. I raised my glance to see where it came from, an instinctive gesture. But it was already too late. My eyes widened, my lips parted to let out a scream— but my voice couldn't be heard.
There was only pain. An immense pain that can't even be accurately described with only words. I shouldn't have survived that accident. But I did. I couldn't move, though. Everything hurt. All the bones in my body were fractured. Thick blood blocked my sight. A miracle or a curse, that was.
I have no memory of what happened, I must have passed out at certain point. And when I woke up, the nightmare began.
Cold steel under my back brought me back to my senses. How many days have passed since the accident? I didn't know. I didn't care in that moment. I was confused. Scared. I couldn't even open my eyes to look at the surroundings. I still couldn't move my body. Yet, I could hear familiar voices. And then, those words reached my mind and my brain decoded them. The words that will be whispered into my ears for the rest of my days by invisible voices.
"Remove the organs. Insert the endoskeleton."
In that moment, I knew what they were going to do. They were going to do to me what they did to all the other employees. If only I had the strength to react, I'd have fought back. I'd have done something to stop them. But it wasn't possible, I couldn't even yell. My body didn't respond to the orders of my brain.
'I should have died.' I repeated to myself, panicking. Fear replaced rage and hatred in that moment. Then, once again, I lost consciousness the moment they started their operation. It was unbearable. Pain overwritten both, fear and rage, and took over my body. Didn't they notice I was awake...?
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I was awakened by a feeling of freezing cold. My whole body felt cold. When I opened my eyes, I could finally see something since that fatal day of the car accident. My sight was blurred, at first, but that didn't last for long. Slowly, but surely, my body was completely turned on. Like a computer that needs time to downlaod all the necessary data.
Then, I could finally move my head. Left and right, right and left. Up and down, down. Down. Downdowndowndown— ERROR.
I could see my new body. My mechanical hands. Wires coming out my shoulders. A warm red liquid began to fall from my eyes, running over my cheeks.
If I could move my arms, I would have clawed at myself. I would have torn apart all those wires, one by one.
But it wasn't over.
The core members of the corporation approached me. I could see them. They could see me. They were smiling, satisfied of the abomination they created.
They came to feed me. I wanted to resist, it was disgusting, the thought alone was disgusting. But just like a beast I couldn't control myself. I've engulfed the human flesh they gave me.
This continued for several days, weeks, maybe months. Time passed by. Slowly. Painfully slowly.
Every day was hell on earth. Every day I would have wished to be dead, but when those thoughts came to me, I remembered that redhead. As long as I was alive, I could have seen him again.
I wondered where he was, what he was doing, how he was feeling.
... I wondered, if he would hate me after witnessing my new body.
Nonetheless, I was determined to meet him again, to tell him I was still alive. This desire to see him, accompanied by the desire to take my revenge on the corporation and its members grew day by day. And it gave me the necessary strength to strike at them when they put their guards down.
A bloodbath. I made sure to show them how it feels to be torn apart. Too bad he wasn't among them.
After killing them, covered in blood, I found an exit. It wasn't hard. I knew that place very well. Then I walked. Step by step, making sure not to be seen by anyone. Like a phantom, I wandered the street of a cursed urban area. I was returning to my mansion, in the suburbs. I was sure he was there too.
In fact, I wasn't wrong.
Anxiety invaded my mind the moment I stood in front of the door. I was a monster. A human eating machine. I was dead.
But before I could stop my hand, I knocked on the door.
I waited.
Few minutes passed. But they felt like hours.
When the door opened, I could see him. Dark circles around his prosthetic eyes, pale visage... He looked devastated, exhausted. But as soon as he realized I was there, his expression drastically changed. I could only see it for few seconds, because the redhead, without hesitation, without fears, wrapped his prosthetic arms around my mangled body. He was warm. I couldn't remember the last time I felt warmth. It felt good. But I couldn't bring myself to hug him back. Those monstrous arms of mine could kill him. I didn't even want to scratch him. I was terrified by that possibility, but his voice brought me back to reality.
"Welcome back, Vincent. Welcome back home, my dearest."
His voice was shaking, his embrace tight and firm. It was comforting.
I rested my chin on his shoulder.
There were so many things I wanted to say. So many words I wanted to pronounce.
However, in that moment, I could only whisper:
"Thank you, Victor. I'm glad to see you again."
I was glad I survived the car accident. If I died, I couldn't have returned between his arms.